Southern Charm
by WistfulSin
Summary: This wasn't supposed to happen. It wasn't supposed to even be possible. Victoria was supposed to investigate a fake haunting, easy. What she found were two familiar, incredibly fictional faces, and a summoning circle that had somehow crossed the line between realities. Introducing Hiei and Kurama to modern day South Carolina isn't going to be easy. "I'll get you home. I promise."
1. Chapter 1

**I'm mostly posting this because I've really wanted to for a while and to gauge interest in this piece. I won't make promises for a super consistent schedule at the moment, but I will do my best.**

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"This is the place?" Victoria Delaney stared up at the twilit house, her eyes scanning the dilapidated appearance with little enthusiasm. The security guard beside her nodded, swallowing as he avoided looking in her piercing blue eyes.

A surprisingly common reaction to her gaze. She'd learned to own it.

"Yeah, this is the place." He nodded toward the dark windows and weathered gate. "Some kids broke in the other day and said they were attacked. I tried to get it in but I couldn't get past the front door. I mean, I'd heard the place was haunted, but Lord Jesus. I was not ready."

He wiped a wrist over his forehead to absorb some of the sweat pouring from his brow. Victoria spared him a dull look before opening the door of the beat up sedan.

"I guess it's good someone called a pro, then." She huffed, climbing out of the car. As she turned to tell the guard to wait for her to come out he shoved the shifter into reverse and flew out of the overgrown lot, throwing dirt and weeds from under his spinning tires. Sighing, she stared after him then turned her attention back to the real star of the show.

This house. It'd been home to more than its share of ghost stories for a while now. Urban legends of murders and ghosts. Demons. She didn't believe any of it. She'd dealt with some shady shit in her day and no amount of visiting the county clerk for records or the library for newspapers could confirm the stories she'd heard in school. The truth of it was that the place wasn't haunted. Maybe occupied by a vagrant, but not haunted. But someone was paying her decent money to come check it out and she didn't say no to a paycheck.

This was the life of a professional occultist in South Carolina.

The sun blazed behind the house, casting long shadows. The roof was in a state all to itself, burdened with weathering storms and hurricanes without repair over long years of emptiness. Spanish moss clung to the tattered shingles, some of which littered the overgrown lawn. The grass reached her ribs as she walked through the broken wrought iron arch in the fence, stepping over cracked cement to get to the door. The handle and lock were broken. She took a moment to pour a thick line of salt over the threshold.

A group of teenagers had broken in recently, as reported by the security guard that had found them running like lost chickens through the streets. The kids were screaming and causing a fuss in next neighborhood over, a place that had been recently renovated and sold for a pretty penny as historic. They'd been in the house and were messing around with things they didn't fully understand or appreciate and had been physically attacked by _something_.

The vague description bothered Victoria more than the attack itself. Something? When she'd interrogated the group they'd all offered different accounts of the apparition. Tall. Short. White. Dark. Green eyes. Red eyes. Dark hair. Light hair. Human. Demon. Soft. Harsh. Gnashing teeth. Gentle smiles. No one knew what the hell had actually happened and that meant that she was unprepared.

The door gave easily when she pushed her palm against the faded brown paint, the wood beneath worn and light. The house numbers had been stripped off from the siding ages before. She let it swing open fully, standing on the concrete stoop and staring into the darkness for a few seconds before turning on her flashlight and highlighting the entryway. The door led to a mudroom, the next door opened beyond it and revealing what seemed to be a decrepit living room. Victoria moved into the mudroom and closed the door behind her.

"Anyone home?" She called, tone aloof despite her other palm resting on the butt of her sidearm. "My name is Victoria. I'm here because of some kids that got hurt."

Noise. Subtle, but present. Weight shifting on the boards on the floor above her and causing a tell-tale creaking that only these old houses offered. She drew her gun and attached the flashlight to the top of it, eyes narrowing slightly. Dust rose around her leather boots as she carefully picked her path over the floor into the living room, sweeping her light across the space. Swirls of particles highlighted the darkness. An abandoned Ouija board lay on the floor, left to rot in the wake of the attack only a few nights before.

"Fucking idiots." Victoria muttered, eying the so called game. She never had quite gotten the point of trying to contact the dead. What good could possibly come from it?

Then her light picked up white. She crept closer to the unusual marking and she swore quietly to herself, pulling her phone out to take a picture of the symbols painted onto the floor. A summoning circle if she'd ever seen one. The hair on her nape rose, cold creeping down her spine in the form of a drop of sweat. Victoria crouched, noting the scuff marks on the edge of the circle. It had been broken. By who? By what? Furrows were drawn in the plaster to her left, at the base of the stairs. Deep etchings that had littered the floor with the white dust of broken drywall and paint flecks.

Her breath caught in her chest as she swept the light around the room. Bloody handprints on the far wall. Broken windows allowing wind to play in moth eaten drapes. Furniture tipped to the side, rivulets of flaky black running over the washed out material. Blood.

"What the fuck happened here?" She shivered against the oppression of the atmosphere. The call hadn't mentioned any summoning. If whoever had drawn the circle had been successful then that meant-

Creaking drew her attention behind her but not fast enough. A blur of motion stumbled her backwards as she spun to defend herself, blood drawing down her side from a hefty cut to her ribs through her shirt. She yelled, baring her teeth as she threw her elbow into her attacker, forcing them off of her. Her gun pressed into the line of their jaw, bringing the body to stillness. A hand still poised to claw at her face with hideously sharp nails.

"Don't do it." She spat the words, eyes moving to track the second of them that had made to come up from her other side. They stopped walking. The first lowered their hand slowly, eyes narrowed on her face.

Carefully, she pulled her phone from her pocket, her eyes constantly swiveling from the man she held at gunpoint to the one who stared at her through a shield of darkness. With a few motions she brought her phone's flashlight to life and used it to identify the man too far away to touch her. The one under her gun's barrel shifted and she pressed it further into the juncture of his jaw, her finger threatening to tighten on the trigger.

"I said don't do it." She hissed at him, unamused by his ambush tactics. "You assholes are in deep shit."

Then she stopped talking, her tongue going dry as she blinked between the two faces caught in her lights. Shorter, red eyes, dark hair, a menacing snarl formed on his lips, a fringe of white highlighting his sparse bangs. Tall, lithe, red hair shining like his emerald eyes in the harsh light of her phone.

"Oh you've got to be fucking kidding me." Victoria inhaled and gawked at them once more before swearing to herself repeatedly.

The man being held as her captive moved again and the other one spoke earnestly to him, raising his hands and using a quiet but firm tone. One thing for certain, though. The redhead definitely uttered the name Hiei.

"Do you speak English?" Victoria called to the redhead, her mind starting to try to pull impossible pieces of this puzzle together. He stared back at her. "Understand it?"

He offered only the barest nod.

"Tell him not to move toward me or I'll shoot." She advised, her eyes narrowing. "I doubt your friend can survive a bullet to the brain. I'm going to back away to give him space."

Green eyes assessed her, then flicked to the man her gun pointed toward.

"I'm serious." Victoria warned him. "If he makes another move to attack me, I'll shoot him. Warn him to keep still."

A hushed order fell from the redhead's lips and the red eyed man stiffened before growing something back.

"I don't speak a lot of Japanese but I think your friend just called me a stupid whore." Victoria glanced back to the redhead.

After another terse exchange and silence, she slowly pulled back from the man who only had maybe an inch on her in height. That would make him around five-five. Taller than what she remembered but that added credence to her quickly building theory that these two were constructed to distract her. That theory being part of a whole other issue she could tackle after she put these sorry bastards to sleep.

"Okay." She made sure to keep both of them in her sights, stepping back to a middle ground between them. "My name is Victoria."

The two of them exchanged glances and said nothing.

"I'm here because one of you," her eyes met red pointedly, "scared the shit out of a group of kids a few nights back. Hurt some people."

The redhead pointedly glared at his counterpart. The shorter man glared back.

"Now, I have a simple question. Who summoned ya'll?" She asked carefully, gun still in her hand, though it was lowered.

The redhead stared at her, confusion easily read on his face as if he hadn't quite caught what she'd asked. The other just stared off, lips twisted in a sneer as he refused to engage with her. She tried again, gesturing to a circle spray painted onto the floor between the shoved aside and moth eaten couches.

"You were brought here." She stated firmly. "By who?"

Red eyes glanced at her, probably bothered by her tone. But the other glanced down, green eyes scanning the symbols and circle carefully. When he raised his gaze to hers with a shake of his head, she knew he'd understood.

"Why did you attack them?" She pressed the question, focusing more heavily on the one most willing to cooperate. To her surprise this time he answered, his English succinct and heavily accented.

"They attacked us." He stated coolly, eyes narrowing on her. The other man glanced at him, curious. "My friend defended us."

"Explain."

"We were here, confused. They came. They found us, and they sprayed something at us. Hiei defended himself." He opened his hands in a that's what it is gesture and Victoria frowned at him.

"Pepper spray?" She wondered. The kids hadn't mentioned that. But then again, a bunch of delinquents breaking into a house wouldn't have been honest about attacking the occupants. "I'm sorry. Are you hurt?"

This time the man turned to the other and spoke again, quietly, and the red eyed man huffed and rolled his gaze to Victoria.

"No." He stated callously.

They had attacked _him?_ Of all the stupid things to do, seriously. Had these kids never watched TV? Even if this was some sort of sorcery, attacking someone based on a demon who cared less about humanity than he did about trees wasn't smart.

"Do you know where you are?" Victoria settled her gaze back on the other man, determined not to use the name she'd already ascribed him in her mind. He just fit the mold too perfectly. This had to be a trick and one she wouldn't fall for. Normally her eyes picked illusions out immediately, but there were those out there stronger than her. Those with skills that gave her nightmares to consider.

"No." He shook his head. "We are lost."

"Right." She holstered the gun, surprising both of them. "Follow me, I'll show you."

And she headed for the door with a plan. If they were puppets, they wouldn't be able to leave the building. If they were demons, truly, they'd be contained by the line of salt on the threshold of the exit. And if they made it out the door she wasn't sure what she'd be dealing with, but she'd know they weren't pure evil.

Probably.

"Ya'll coming?" She called from the mudroom, one foot over the line of salt already. The two men followed her and stood on the other side of room, watching her with obvious wariness. She crossed the line fully. They continued to stare.

Then, almost as if they'd held a silent conversation, they followed her out the door. Each breaking their way over the line without hesitation or any sign of discomfort. Standing on the concrete stoop together, the three of them assessed one another in the yellow tinge of aging street lights. Victoria swallowed, and then nodded to them, cautiously moving toward the wrought iron gate. As she passed through, she slapped up a white USPS sticker with an old sigil drawn on it in Sharpie. The two of them followed through again, not fazed.

So much for that plan then. She was dealing with corporeal, non-demonic entities that just happened to speak Japanese and meet the identification requirements of her old favorite childhood show. Great. Just fucking great.

"Kurama." The name brought both the redhead and her to a sudden stop as she turned to watch the men talk. The next words were too foreign to her, but she didn't miss the glance thrown her direction as Hiei spoke.

His dark, spiked hair cast odd shadows in the lamplight. It wasn't as outlandish as she'd imagined it would be in real life. Instead it just seemed like the style of someone who'd stuck their head out a car window while going eighty-miles-per-hour then just decided to hairspray it into place. The white starburst remained as a frame to his erratic bangs and his deep crimson eyes glowed with unnerving light. Kurama seemed too human. His tall grace and thick ruby hair fit his emerald eyes well enough, but the alertness of his gaze and the subtle but strong hints of power in his voice called on lost images of power. She felt it thrill down her spine every time he spoke and it bothered her endlessly. It was a sound that rose the hairs on the back your neck but you couldn't place why.

After a few minutes of them burying themselves in conversation she closed her eyes and pressed her hand to her side, blood still dripping from the gash Hiei had delivered on her. It took more effort than she wanted to admit to open her eyelids again and stare at the two foreign men as they debated something, likely trusting her.

"Ya'll about ready? Because I got things to do." She lifted the side of her shirt and revealed the wound to them, in all its blood and glory.

Green eyes widened slightly as red eyes narrowed. A fine declaration of their characters, in her opinion.

"Well, come on. No use wasting away in the dark." She muttered and turned to trudge away from the fence and the grass beyond it, giving the dark house her back without hesitation. Whatever had written that summoning spell was long gone and the portal was closed for good.

But whoever did this was still out there, capable of doing it again, and that was a problem to Victoria. Because this time they summoned theoretically trustworthy demons from another dimension. Next time they might not play so nicely.

"Wait." Kurama called, wrapping a hand around her narrow wrist, bringing Victoria to a halt, the muscles in her forearm flexing in his grip. "Your wound. You're hurt."

"Yep." She nodded and glanced at the other of them. "Not the first time."

"We'll help you." He promised her and she found it odd that he'd offer such a stupid oath given that they'd just met and he had _no idea_ who she was. And yet, she knew so much more about him.

"Maybe." She shrugged and pulled her arm from his fingers. "Maybe not."

And off they set again, headed through the next neighborhood to wait while she called an Uber. The two men sat tensely in the back of the quiet Prius as the driver made small talk about the heat and the damn humidity lately. Victoria offered little conversation back, praising central air and working the night shift. She stumbled out of the car after paying and tripped a little on her way to the door of her lake house. Under the hush of darkness her neighbors were all inside, even if they weren't the closest of them lived around the bend of the lake, too far to be a bother.

Her key slipped in her bloody fingers as she tried to force it into the deadbolt, her eyes losing focus. She hadn't thought she'd lost that much blood. Weird.

After four attempts she slid the key into the lock and twisted, letting herself and the two men into the two story house she'd called home for five years. Her dog, Hank, greeted her with a bark and tail wag, licking at her hands eager for attention. She gestured down to him with eyes narrowed on her intruding guests.

"If you hurt him, I'll kill you." She warned, lifting her shirt to reveal the gun on her hip. Kurama relayed the message to Hiei, who raised an eyebrow as he assessed the dog.

He muttered something she vaguely interpreted as humans and their pets. Her eyes rolled as she stumbled toward the downstairs half-bathroom and yanked the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet. Without another word, the lab mix jumped onto the toilet to watch her thus assuring her of his safety. She pulled her shirt over her head and set about cleaning and wrapping her cut.

Any deeper and she'd need stitches. She wondered if it had been a warning or a missed opportunity for Hiei. Deciding she didn't want to really know, she chose not to ask. The two of them spoke outside the bathroom door, their tones between quizzical and irritated. She'd left the door open and when Hiei marched up to her midway through her taping up her cut, he stopped. His eyes glanced at the wound, then her state of dress and yelled for Kurama who hovered in the doorway as well, though he quickly averted his gaze. Hiei offered no such decency.

"He asks if you'll die." Kurama gestured to her, refusing to glance her direction. "He'll be punished."

"Relax. I'll live." Victoria rolled her eyes. "Are you hungry?"

Kurama glanced at Hiei, relaying the question, and then back to her as she pulled her shirt back on, ripped as it was on the side.

"Yes. Quite."

"Good." She moved toward the kitchen and pulled a few containers from the fridge. "You're going to help me go through leftovers. I hate them, after a while."

She warmed up the food without asking their preferences and set it all out for them on the half-counter separating her kitchen from her dining room. Hiei and Kurama mounted barstools and stared at the array of unfamiliar food for a few seconds before glancing at their host.

"Macaroni and cheese." She pointed to the largest dish. Then the next in line, and the last. "Ham Delights. Green bean casserole. Eat up, boys."

Swallowing his resistance, Kurama tentatively took a little of everything offered and tasted it gingerly. After a few moments of consideration, he offered his opinions to Hiei, who loaded a plate and began to devour the food. Good. With them around she might never have to endure leftovers again. She might even get to miss them.

The dishes were empty in half an hour, Kurama and Hiei both looking satisfied. Victoria offered a pot of jasmine green tea, choosing to drink her own sweet tea as they held a private conversation in Japanese that she couldn't follow. While they ate she went into the storage room and dug out a tote filled with her high school and college memorabilia. In the grey tote were her favorite papers, her awards, accolades, even her diplomas, but also the things she'd treasured during those times in her life. Her favorite books. Her movies. Her CDs. And her manga and DVDs. A few works of fanart she'd purchased online. After the men finished eating she pulled out a few issues of a particular manga and stared at Kurama in the eyes.

"Trans-dimensional gateway." She told him the words, watching them fall flat before pulling out her phone and repeating them through Google Translate. His eyes widened. "You're not real here, you know. You're a fictional character."

She tossed him the first issues of the manga to depict his and Hiei's images, carefully gauging his reaction as she told him the current year. All the while, relying on the translator to pick up her slack. Hiei stared at her and then the redhead for a few moments before snatching one of the books from her hands and flipping through it with a snarl.

"Look that over. I've got a call to make." She let the translator do its work before taking her phone with her out to her back patio.

From here she could see the lake, the pier with her pontoon tied to it. Across the width of the lake was a speedboat and another house, larger than her own, palm trees littering the yard. She glanced at her own ancient magnolia tree. With a deep breath she dialed the number that had contacted her for this job to give them a piece of her mind.

"We're sorry, but the number you're trying to contact is no longer in service."

She tried again.

"We're sorry, but the number you're trying to contact is no longer in service."

The next five times all produced the same result and Victoria nearly threw her phone into the green water in her anger. Instead she hurriedly checked her bank account and found it fuller than it had been before she'd left home several hours before.

Sender unknown.

"Fuck!" She howled the word and kicked over a watering can that splintered as it bounced over the grass. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!"

She picked the can up and slammed it down repeatedly until all the remained where shards of pea green plastic and the handle in her fist. Panting she licked her lips and straightened herself out, closing her eyes to get a grip on herself.

 _Think, Victoria. Think._ She ordered herself, long drags of breath calming her down. _Did you recognize the voice? Did you recognize the names?_

No. She didn't. She didn't recognize anything except the name of the house and the price of the job. She should've been more careful. If anything, or anyone, else had been in that house, she could've been killed. Whoever hired her had known something was wrong. With purpose, she marched back into the house and glared at the two men arguing in her living room.

They turned to her with equal looks of hostility, and both starting hammering against her verbally. She felt their anger as a living thing pressing against her skin, and it made her clench her teeth together.

They had a right to be pissed, sure. They were ripped from their home. They were in a foreign place. But still, she didn't appreciate that anger being directed at her. She could have left them _there_.

"Stop yelling at me!" She shouted back at them. "I didn't do this!"

They continued.

"I don't understand you." Victoria pointed out finally and shook her head, waving her hands. "I don't speak Japanese, morons."

Hiei thrust a manga in front of her face. He yelled something she didn't understand, but she knew the panels well enough.

Yukina.

Hiei stepped toward her when she didn't speak again. He wrapped a hand around her throat and squeezed, gesturing with the book. She allowed him to touch her, her eyes narrowing as she listened to him rant. Then her hand wrapped around his wrist and squeezed back, her thumb digging into the nerve under his thumb that would force his grip to loosen. Crimson eyes grew large as she pulled herself away, then forced his hand down away from her. Her finger shoved toward his face, a clear warning in her voice.

"Touch me again. I dare you." She seethed.

He stepped toward her and she reached to her sidearm.

"Hiei, that's enough, I think." Kurama spoke clearly, in English, obviously for her benefit. Victoria glanced at him, but her eyes settled back on the fire demon. "Do you mean to harm us?"

"No." She stated clearly.

Hiei huffed and shook his head, turning his ire onto the redhead. Victoria watched them for a moment as Hank trotted over to the two men. When his wet nose touched Hiei's hand, tail wagging, the demon snarled and moved to strike him. Victoria launched herself across the room, taking him off his feet.

Her hand squeezed his throat without hesitation, so hard she felt the rush of air in and out as Hiei breathed. Hank yipped and slunk away, tail down as he watched the fight.

"What did I tell you?" She demanded of the fire demon.

To her surprise, Hiei didn't fight back. He relaxed under her, allowing her to kneel over him with her hand around his neck as he lifted his chin slightly.

"Kurama." Hiei called the name, his eyes never leaving blue. He uttered something else.

"He said you're stronger than he thought." Kurama tentatively spoke up from beside Victoria, who still glared into the fire demon's face. "You said you didn't mean harm."

"I didn't. But I warned you both. Don't touch my dog." She spit the words and jerked herself away from Hiei, falling into pacing the room. "This is such bullshit. It was supposed to be an easy job. Haunting. There wasn't supposed to be a summoning circle. _You weren't supposed to be there._ "

Hiei got back to his feet slowly, flexing his hand with heavy consideration. He eyed the dark haired human pacing before them. Her muttering meant nothing to him, he didn't understand a single word of it. But he could see her agitation clear as day. One look at Kurama and he knew the fox was listening to her intently.

"We're not the same here. I can't feel my energy." Hiei kept his voice as he spoke to his friend. "Can you?"

"No." Kurama shook his head. "I feel plainly human. She said something about a different dimension. I think we were pulled into a different world. In this world we're characters in a comic book."

"Are you alone?" Victoria spun toward Kurama suddenly, the movement causing him to stiffen and step backwards. She noted the movement but didn't say anything about it

"Yes. Just us." He motioned to Hiei.

"Damn. Kuwabara has that dimensional sword, right? He can cut through. If he were here, we could just send you home." She made a face, scrunching up her features. "He can't use the dragon, right?"

Kurama's eyes grew carefully guarded at the blunt question. "Why?"

"If he could, he'd have fought me off. He's not that afraid of punishment." Victoria rolled her eyes. "It's fine. I just don't want to wake up dead."

"I don't understand." Kurama frowned at her.

"It's just a saying." She looked away from him, lips pressed into a line as she squinted, thinking. "I guess you'll stay here until I can figure out what's happening. First chance I get, I'll send you home."

Kurama glanced at Hiei, then back to her. "What's your name?"

She frowned, her attention drawn back to him. The expression on her face clearly stated she didn't want to offer name. But she sighed, relenting. She knew theirs, it was only fair. They couldn't use hers anyway, not the way other demons could.

"Victoria Delaney." She told them both, trying to enunciate as best she could. Her frown remained when she glanced at the stairs. "I'll show you to the spare room. Sorry for the mess, I wasn't expecting company."

She pursed her lips, hearing her grandmother scold her as if the woman were actually there in the room. Grams always got onto her for not being prepared for guests. Always keep the guest room clean, always have food ready, never run out of sweet tea. Sighing, Victoria ran her hand through her hair.

"Thank you." Kurama offered quietly, watching her every movement carefully. "Your hospitality is appreciated."

She eyed him, quirking a brow. "Don't thank me yet. You haven't even seen the room."

Kurama imagined, later, she'd been right to warn him of that. The bed was a full-size, large enough for him and Hiei but small enough it was slightly uncomfortable. The mattress wasn't the best either, as it sagged in the middle. Either Victoria was the constant host of guests or never the host, given the haphazard state of the room. A cool breeze filtered in through the window, stirring the sun-bleached curtains.

Honesty, the room seemed like it hadn't been used in years. A coat of dust aged the wood of the bedframe and the matching dresser shoved against the far wall. The blankets and sheets smelled of mothballs and cedarwood, having been taken directly from the over-cramped closet.

"I'll get around to cleaning that out." Victoria had assured him, but she didn't look entirely invested in the idea. "Dresser is empty though. TV works, but it's only basic cable."

Kurama hadn't felt the need to explain that Hiei and himself didn't have any possessions to store. Just the clothes on their backs which they'd been living in for nearly a week. The cuff of his pants were soiled from the old house they'd found themselves in.

Hiei perched on the dresser, one leg hanging down as they discussed their situation in hushed voices. He didn't fully believe the woman couldn't understand them. Something about her eyes made him think she understood far more than she let on. With her in the house, he wasn't about to fall asleep. They'd take shifts, just as they had at their last unfortunate residence. Kurama seemed to agree, but the fox had a hard time settling to sleep even with Hiei watching.

A knock on the door drew both their mouths closed, eyes swiveling to the bedroom door. They didn't respond. Another knock, a few seconds after. Kurama eyed Hiei then got to his feet, leaving the bed to open the door to Victoria.

"Yes?" He asked cautiously.

She held a bag out to him, a beaten tan military duffle that was far heavier than it looked when he accepted it.

"The shower is the next door down from here. Use whatever you need. Help yourselves to the kitchen. Just don't the property and don't touch the dog." She instructed without hesitation, but her tone was slightly softer than it had been earlier. "It's not much, but it's what I've got to offer for now. We'll get you two better situated as soon as we can."

He stared back at her, then looked at the bag again. The dog sat behind her in the hall, ears perked as it looked into the room, tail wagging slightly.

"Come on Hank, let's get some sleep." She turned and left Kurama to his thoughts, and the dog followed her down the hall. She opened a door on the opposite side of theirs disappearing through it without another word.

Kurama tossed the bag onto the bed and unzipped it, wondering what exactly she had to offer, as she'd put it. To his surprise an array of clothing lay inside, along with a few books written in English. Also the mangas she'd showed them before and a collection of DVDs also featuring their faces. A note attached, telling him she'd read the stories and that was the extent of her knowledge. A map of the grounds she lived on as well, outlining the borders of the property and the layout of the house itself.

Hiei slid off the dresser and walked over, raising his eyebrows at the contents. "What is she giving us this for?"

"I think she's trying to help." Kurama offered, also mildly surprised. "It seems she wants us to know what she knows about us."

"Why?" Hiei frowned.

"I'm not certain, but I think because she doesn't view us as threats. She seems to be concerned about us more than anything."

Hiei scoffed. Kurama relayed the rest of the information to him, particularly about the shower and the kitchen. They invested both together before decided to bathe before anything else. By the time they'd washed themselves, changed and gotten water, both of them where fighting back the haze of sleep.

"You sleep, I'll take over the watch." Kurama offered, stifling a yawn. "I'm the one who stayed awake during my turn."

"Idiot." Hiei huffed, but didn't argue, crawling over the bed and collapsing on it. "This bed is terrible."

Kurama agreed with a hum, pulling the mangas from the bag and beginning to delve into them. What a turn of events, he mused to himself, to find themselves in a new world being cared for by yet another snarky human. Inter-dimensional gateway. He considered the ramifications then buried the thoughts for the moment so he could assess them with a clear head and some sleep. Instead he began reading about Yusuke, an odd sense of calm overcoming him as he revisited his friends' trials.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I have family in South Carolina. I spend time there semi-frequently. Some of my family lives on Lake Wateree and I've loosely based Victoria's house and location on that. I've been to that lake my whole life.**

 **I do want to stipulate though that there is no 'mall' in the real life area surrounding Lake Wateree, as it's part of Lugoff. A really killer wing joint (Leo's) but no mall. So that's fictitious. There will be some fact smudging and the location in the story will be made up.**

 **Also, the tea house I describe is based on Dobra Tea in South Portland, Maine, one of my favorite places to visit even though I don't get to go very often. I'm very tired. This chapter isn't very long, but managing three stories is time consuming. And it's been a stressful week.**

 **Love y'all.**

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It was three in the morning and Victoria sat up abruptly, casting off sleep like it was a cloak. One moment she was dreaming about making out with her Logic 101 professor from six years before on the roof of a hotel overlooking a field full of Pokémon and the next she was staring at the darkness of her room wondering what _that sound_ was. Hank hadn't moved, which was unusual if there was a disturbance in the house. Staring at her dog for a moment she reached out and stroked him, happy to feel his warm chest rise and fall under her palm.

The soles of her feet hit the floor and she found herself padding through the darkened house to the sliding glass doors leading to her back porch. The air outside felt cool and heavy against her cheeks. The sound had stopped, whatever it was, and she was left staring out over the lake.

Two balls of light floated at the end of her dock, beside her tethered pontoon. Tilting her head, she watched the lights flicker and swoop, sliding around each other.

It wasn't until the wood of the pier felt cold under her feet that she even realized she'd been walking again. She stopped cold, eyes widening as she understood what was happening. The lights grew brighter. Victoria pulled back, stepping off the dock and back onto the grass. The lights seemed to waver then, before they grew to such a level of luminescence she had to shield her eyes.

Then it was just dark.

She lowered her hand and stared at where the balls of light had been, hesitant to call them what they were. But it could be denied, not really.

"That's not a good sign." Victoria blinked, rubbing at her eyes, then she shook her head and made her way back to the house, hoping to get some semblance of decent sleep, all the while unaware of the pair of crimson eyes watching her.

* * *

"Honey, I just really don't have the energy for this right now." Victoria tried, for the third time, to end the ongoing one-sided conversation occurring at her kitchen counter.

"But you the energy for two weird foreign guys?" Came the sharp response, only further agitating her. "Let me guess, your new _friends_ are why you're so tired, right? Did they keep you up all night?"

"I was up for reasons pertaining to them, yes. But I didn't fuck them, if that's where this is going." She leveled Frankie with a dull look. "They had nowhere else to go."

"So you brought them here? Take them to a shelter. Better yet, call ICE." He waved his hands in the air before slamming them on the counter.

If he expected her to flinch, he was mistaken. She didn't budge, continuing her cool stare even as the dog barked. Hiei, however, had whirled around at the sudden noise and snarled at the man. Kurama hushed him, trying to make it seem like they weren't observing this fight that had gone on _far_ too long.

Victoria bowed her head to her hand, rubbing her eyes and face before letting out an exasperated sigh. "You're being real fucking annoying right now, hon."

"I'm being annoying?" He demanded and she nodded. "What would you do if you came over and found me with two Chinese ladies?"

"They're Japanese."

"It doesn't matter."

"It sort of does."

"Answer me Victoria." Frankie stood up and leaned over the counter, an action that caused the two men in the living room to still.

"You might want to sit your ass right the hell back down, coming at me like that. I am not in the mood." Victoria warned him, eyes narrowing and tone growing hot. "Wipe that look off your face mister."

"You are not in a position to be bossing me around." Frankie's voice started to rise.

Kurama glanced between the newcomer and Victoria, eyes moving quickly even as they narrowed. Hiei watched too.

"She did something unusual." Hiei told Kurama, glancing at the woman. "She walked outside in the middle of the night and stared at two balls of light."

"Lights?" Kurama frowned, lifting his head from the manga he'd devoted himself to. "What lights?"

"I don't know. There were two lights by the boat." Hiei rolled his eyes. "They disappeared."

"And you found it more interesting that she went out to investigate than the fact there were two lights that just vanished?" Kurama closed the book in his hands and raised his eyebrows. The conversation in the kitchen grew louder. "Should we intervene?"

"She seems capable of handling the situation." Hiei pointed out, scowling as he remembered being tackled the night before. "Just hope the bastard doesn't touch the dog."

Kurama fought back a smile at the thought, managing to keep his expression cool. "I suppose you're right. Still, it's unseemly."

Kurama cracked the book open again and bowed his head to read it. Hiei craned around to stare at the man as he got into Victoria's face, shouting in that annoying language of theirs. The woman didn't back down but she also didn't raise a hand to him. Instead, she just offered the dullest expression he'd ever seen a human muster and rolled her eyes. The man raised his voice another octave and her cut her gaze to him.

"Get out."

Hiei tipped his head to the side. Watching at the man sputtered in the wake of her comment.

"I said get out." Victoria gestured to the door.

"How the hell can you-"

"I'll make this easy for you. Get the fuck out of my house or I'll remove you." Victoria told him, eyes narrowing dangerously as her tone grew sharp. "I will not be spoken to this way in my own house. Get out."

He went to argue and she fixed him with an unblinking stare. The man stared back, his hands falling to his sides.

Now that was interesting.

"Get out."

He did, picking his way to the door without even glancing at the men in the living. Hiei watched him go, then roved his eyes back over to Victoria who met his attention without flinching.

"Did you see that?" Hiei asked Kurama, eyes still on the woman.

"I'm afraid I didn't." Kurama admitted, once again pulling his attention up from the manga. "I'm sorry, Hiei. I'm trying to get a grasp of what our hostess might know about us."

"She knows enough." Hiei pointed out, breaking his staring contest to glare at Kurama. "She's not normal, Kurama."

"Assuredly. No one we know is." Kurama greed, then tipped his head to the side. "What happened?"

"I think-"

Plates clattered onto the coffee table between the two men, making both stiffen. Victoria glanced between them, no smile, and gestured to the food.

"Itadakimasu, boys." She told them and Kurama offered her a gentle smile.

"That's not how you-"

"We'll go shopping for you two today so you don't have to wear the archive of exes forever." She motioned to those clothes.

"Archive of exes?" Kurama repeated, tilting his head.

"Clothes my ex boyfriends have left here." She answered dryly.

"Will it be a long trip?" Kurama asked and she seemed to consider it before shaking her head.

"No longer than necessary."

* * *

"I hate this." Hiei kept close to Kurama in the sparsely populated mall. "It's loud. And it smells strange. I feel like I'm about to be attacked."

"It'll be fine," Kurama assured him. "We're just buying some clothes."

Victoria turned and looked at them, eyes moving from the redhead to Hiei. She stopped walking, halting them with her. "One outfit."

"Pardon?" Kurama looked her over.

"He only has to try on one outfit. If I can get his size, I can shop for him." Victoria explained. "He's doesn't like being here, right? It's making him anxious. We'll leave as soon as I get his size."

Kurama furrowed his brow then and then looked between Hiei and the woman. "Your Japanese is better than I thought."

"I don't speak Japanese." Victoria turned away leading them to a store and the two men shared a look before following her.

"Not normal." Hiei repeated his earlier sentiment and Kurama was quicker to agree this time around.

….

While Hiei tried on his one outfit, Kurama watched Victoria. She lounged on a bench, head against the wall, eyes closed. Even though he'd only known her for a day or so, he could see the bags under her eyes. There was a pallor to her skin that had escaped his notice the day before. In the light of day, her hair shone purple, so dark it appeared black in anything less than full light, the pixie cut longer on top and pushed back from her face.

"Have you ever heard of thin slicing?" Her words found him easily, her tone neutral. "It's where your mind is able to establish patterns you might not be consciously aware of based on tiny amounts of information. We refer to it as intuition, the sense that we know something more than what's presented, because we don't fully grasp that our subconscious has processed."

"I'll admit I'm unfamiliar with the theory." Kurama told her.

She opened her eyes and merely nodded, glancing toward the changing rooms a scant second before Hiei emerged in a pair of loose shorts and a tank top.

"I recognize a lot of situations." She spoke quietly, to the point Kurama almost hadn't heard her. But his emerald eyes flicked toward her none the less. "Too many."

Kurama complimented Hiei's choice and sent the other man back into the stall to change once again so they could check out. "Hiei saw you chasing balls of light last night."

"I'm relieved. I thought I was having a nightmare." Victoria admitted. "If Hiei saw them too, at least I know I was awake. And probably sane."

"You consider lights to be the material of nightmares?" The redhead puzzled.

"They weren't lights. They were will-o-wisps and they weren't supposed to be there. We've never had them on the lake before." Victoria got up from her seat as Hiei marched toward them.

"Never?" Kurama stared at her.

"Never." She repeated, looking all the more exhausted for the comment. To Hiei she held out her hands, accepting the pile of clothes from him. "You can go outside, if you want. Do you remember where we came in at? We'll meet there in half an hour."

Hiei glanced toward Kurama, raised an eyebrow until the redhead relayed the message. Then he looked back at Victoria, nodding. Kurama offered his basket of selected clothes to her, casting an appraising glance over her before he walked out with Hiei.

The relief that washed over her when they left nearly buckled her knees. Hiei was nothing more than a tightly wound ball of stress _constantly_ on edge, overwhelmed by his environment, by his senses, by _everything_. Kurama wasn't much better, but he didn't display it. He felt less anxious and more _curious_ about everything. More concern, more desire for control, for understanding. Their juxtaposed needs gave her a migraine the size of Texas. She just needed a half-hour away from them.

Just some time to dissolve into herself.

It was always worse after sleepless nights and active days. The emotional upheaval of the morning hadn't helped at all. Frankie's anger had frayed her already wound nerves. And now with the tension of bringing those to the mall…

She just needed time.

So she took it, picking through the men's clothes with a lazy productiveness that eventually led her to the register but not too quickly. By the time she paid she finally felt hungry, realizing she hadn't eaten that morning with a sharp pang.

"You boys hungry?" Victoria met them outside the mall with five minutes to spare, her arms weighed down with bags. Kurama accepted a portion of her load from her, relaying the question to Hiei, who grunted his acceptance. "Good, I know a quiet place."

Her smile didn't do much to assuage the doubt either man cast at her.

The hole-in-the-wall restaurant was indeed quiet. And also quite dim for the middle of the day. The tables were spaced out to allot for privacy, one on an elevated platform even having curtains that could be pulled close. That's where Victoria led them, arranging herself on one of the cushions on the floor provided for seating and cracking open a thick menu.

Hiei and Kurama seemed to relax once the curtain was drawn. She pushed a menu toward the two of them as they settled down, side by side. "The tea is good."

The tea was ninety-five percent of the menu. All varieties of the stuff, black, green, herbal, roobois, chai, milk based, from all different regions of the world. And the food was smaller, but equally delicious. Tea snacks and some light entrees. Hiei and Kurama discussed their choices in low voices before pointing to them in the menu and Victoria rang a bell to summon a quiet, but cheerful server who took their orders with a smile.

"I come here to withdraw." Victoria looked around their enclosed space, thankful for the blissful silence it allowed. "After hard cases, I need quiet."

"Cases? What exactly do you do?" Kurama leaned forward.

"I investigate and research paranormal phenomenon." She explained, opening her hands wide. "And when I discover things that aren't supposed to be here, I send it back."

"Send it back?" Kurama pressed.

"The method varies based on the entity. But I can work with spirits to help them move on. I can banish demons. And it makes good money, but I do most of my business out of the house. Small craft work, divination, minor spells. People 'round here, they go to church on Sundays. They say their prayers, but when they find themselves having a run of bad luck, they come to me." Victoria told him with a shrug. "When they need a boost on getting that job, they come to me. And when they find two men walking out of a summoning circle, they come to me."

"And this takes energy." Kurama surmised. "It causes your exhaustion."

"It's part of the cause, yeah." She bobbed her head. "You two feel better here too, right? It feels like home even though you've never been here before. There are sigils all over the place to promote peace and rest. There are stones littered around the place to mitigate negative energies. The food is all made with _intention_."

"Intention?"

"An energy directed toward a goal." She explained. "The guys here, they can tell what you need just by looking at you. You'll feel better when we leave."

"Kurama, explain." Hiei demanded, annoyed he'd been left out of the loop. "That damn tongue of hers just wags and wags."

Kurama glanced at Hiei only because Victoria's eyes moved in that direction. Her head tipped to the side and she frowned.

"Some things can't be controlled." She pursed her lips and then smiled as their server arrived with their various teas and food. With a wink, she picked up her tea cake and took a bite. "My ravenous appetite for example."

But Kurama saw her cover for what it was. For a moment that pallor had crept back into her cheeks, her eyes growing heavy. Only for a moment though. And only when Hiei's agitation had caused him to speak.

"Yes, I suppose somethings can't." Kurama agreed with her, feeling that he was getting a grasp of this woman.

And with his realization he turned to Hiei, taking great care with relaying their conversation to the other man, trying his best to recite the words verbatim.

Because it was important.

Because _she_ was important.

With every passing minute in this strange world, he had begun to realize that Victoria was their only fixture. That made her honesty not just refreshing, but necessary. Trusting her would be vital to their survival. It was paramount to _getting them home_.

So the fact she was lying was just as important as all the truths she'd spilled. He knew it.

And he needed Hiei to know it too.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: I've been having a hard time writing, which sucks since this is NaNo time. Anyway, I managed to get this finished up after some frustration. I'm hoping to write longer chapters soon.**

 **I pulled the Tarot meanings from my Linestrider's Journey companion book. It's such a beautiful deck. If you're interested in tarot I suggest checking it out. I'm on the prowl for The Wild Unknown deck by Kim Krans. That's not really important. Anyway, here's a short but hopefully information chapter on Victoria, the weirdness Hiei keeps noticing, and introducing one of my fave characters: Grams.**

* * *

Victoria stared into her cabinets, pulling her phone from her back pocket just before it rang. "I was just about to call you."

"I had the funniest dream last night that you'd gotten the _strangest_ pets." A warm voice drawled on the other side of the line.

"Let me guess, a dragon and a fox?"

"A fox and a small panda bear, actually. What's have you done now?" The old woman sighed, long suffering when it came to granddaughter's antics.

A panda? Oh, that was rich. Victoria glanced over to where Hiei and Kurama had their heads bowed together over a later installment of the manga. A smile cracked over her face. Now that Grams had said it, it couldn't be unseen.

He did have an awfully black and white aesthetic, didn't he?

But weren't pandas slow and sort of dumb? Victoria clicked her tongue. What a strange image for her grandmother to dredge up to describe the man.

Panda.

Hiei in a panda costume.

How much pain would it cost her to pull that off for Halloween in a few months?

"Victoria Priscilla Delaney." The snapping call of her name brought the woman back to her senses and out of her thoughts. "What. Have. You. Done?"

"I didn't _do_ anything. Things just happen to me, you know that." Victoria lamented, letting her head fall back on her neck. "This incident is a lot worse than usual though."

"Incident?"

"Yeah. Those animals? They're people. Well, kind of? They have pulses and they exist. I'm not sure why or how though. They _aren't supposed to_." Victoria explained the situation, not bothering to lower her voice. "It's a huge mess."

"And you tried salt?"

"Salt was the _first_ thing I tried, Grams. And I used a sigil. Hell, I even took them to Ward's Tea House. Nothing out alarming."

"And you're certain they're demons?"

"Like I said, _kind of_. They're supposed to be demons but it seems like here, they're just human? It's really stressing the panda out actually. I've had a headache all fucking day."

"Oh, I heard you and Frankie ended things."

"I ended things. Frankie is a dick. He required too much upkeep and made me feel like I was on edge." Victoria sighed. "I was going to break up with him anyway."

"You need to find a nice man to take care of you."

"I'm too busy to worry about dating, Grams. I've sort of got my hands full with the interdimensional creatures sitting in my living room." Victoria hung her head. "Anyway, I'm not coming tomorrow. I don't want to leave these guys alone."

"Bring them."

"You've lost your fucking mind."

There was a pause after the alarmed outburst, which had brought the two men's attention to Victoria as she ceased her pacing of the kitchen. She glanced at them, then away quickly.

"You can't just keep them locked up in your house, Victoria. Boys need room to run around."

"They seem full grown to me. And besides, Hiei gets stressed in social situations. We went out to the mall earlier and the grocery store and I thought he was going to have a panic attack. Guy needs to get whelmed."

"Alright, well, you'll bring them next week after they've had time to settle in. Let me know if there's anything I can do for you sweetie. I'll bring leftovers tomorrow night." Grams offered with a happy lilt to her voice. "Stay safe, honey."

"Love you." Victoria nodded.

"Love you too."

"You're not much for secrets, are you?" Kurama asked from the living room, skepticism clearly arranging his features.

"No one keeps secrets from Grams." Victoria told him with a shrug. "That woman is something else."

She went back to inspecting her cabinets with heavy interest, ignoring them. Kurama was mildly surprised by how often she seemed to pretend they weren't there. Either her behavior the night before had a been a result of stress and her injury, or she was playing them. He honestly couldn't decide which.

"You need something?" Victoria turned around to catch his attention, head tipped to the side. "You're staring awful hard there, Kurama."

"I'm just trying to assess you." He admitted with a shrug. "Your personality seems to shift without notice."

She raised an eyebrow. "I think I've been pretty stable."

"Last night you held a gun to Hiei's head and then tackled him over a dog. Today you buy us clothing and food and pretend we aren't a threat to you." He gestured toward her loosely.

"You suggesting you are a threat, Kurama?"

"I'm suggesting you're being awfully lax for a woman who has taken great care to protect herself."

They stared at each other and Victoria clicked her tongue a few times, then walked over to him. She posted herself on the arm of the love seat, allowing him the space of two couch cushions between their bodies as she rested her elbows on her knees.

"You pointed out last night that while I obviously know a great deal about you, you don't know anything about me. That's a fair point." Victoria told him. "I come from a long line of talented women. Matriarchs, if you will, who have gifts. Grams, her gifts are stronger than mine. I sort of started developing mine late because I hated them and after mom killed herself it wasn't something I wanted to be a part of. But you can't run away from yourself, no matter what you do."

"Gifts?" Kurama squinted at her. "You're speaking of psychic phenomenon."

"Yeah, I am."

"What sort of _gifts_ do you have then?"

"I'm an empath foremost." Victoria widened her hands. "I sense the emotions of those around me, often as if they are my own if I'm not careful and take precautions. I can also manipulate emotions, if I'm inclined to, but it takes a lot of focus or energy and generally I lack both."

"And what else?"

"An intuitive, mostly through feelings. Like what we discussed earlier, it can be called thin slicing, but also, sometimes, it's more than that. Like Grams I'll have dreams. We're both very susceptible to paranormal events and the like." Victoria waved a hand in the air. "I use tarot, runes and other forms of divination when I want to. Grams has taught me a lot about herbalism and the like."

"Runes? Tarot?" Kurama furrowed his brow. "I'm not very familiar with those things."

"I'll show you." She slid off the couch and made her way to a book shelf before opening a box and pulling out a boxed deck of cards. She slid the cards free and started to shuffle them idly, almost as if out of habit. "Tarot cards are basically a set of cards that all have their own meaning and when used properly, can help provide information or guidance. You just have to ask the right questions and listen carefully. Runes are the same way, but they are small stones with engravings that all hold particular meanings."

She walked back to the couch and posted once again on the arm of it. She directed Kurama to think of a question while she continued to shuffle her cards. Then she did a simple three card spread before him, laying the cards face up and looking them over with a practiced eye. Humming, she nodded to herself.

"Past, present, future." She indicated which card held which significance. "I find it funny that your cards are so well laid out, they work together, but it also seems like you. I mean, the you that I've come to know through stories, at least."

Kurama watched her with interest as she skimmed her fingertips over the first card, the one in the past position. "The Emperor. A highly masculine card. In this position, nearly always references a powerful male influence in one's life. A brother, a father, a lover, a boss. It's also about mind over heart, especially when it plays with the suit of swords, which we find in your future positon, indicating you need to use a fact based approach when handling upcoming business. But with cups in your present spot, it appears that there is either a strong male presence around you, one of authority, or that you are being called on to assume responsibility."

Both of them cut their gazes towards Hiei, who frowned openly and huffed, but didn't look away as he watched the two of them bow their heads over the cards on the couch cushion.

"I wonder who that could be." Kurama muttered dryly.

Victoria laughed, tapping the card in the middle. "Cups is a suit of emotion and the subconscious. The Five of Cups, here, says that you're in a state of grief. You're trapped in a cycle of negative thinking and loss, but you need to focus on the positive of your situation. What you're enduring isn't fun and it's not a welcomed change, but it must be accepted."

Kurama nodded, staring at the card.

"Lastly, we have one of my favorite cards. The Six of Swords. A card of change. In the future, if you utilize that big brain of yours instead of those tumultuous feelings enshrouding you, you'll find better times ahead. A change is coming. In your case, given your situation, I think it's safe to use the escape meaning of the card."

"Indicating that if I keep a clear head, and focus on the best of the situation, we'll find a way home?" Kurama asked her.

"I think so." She nodded back to him, smiling softly.

"That's surprisingly accurate to what I thought of asking." Kurama blinked, fingering the edge of one of the cards. "Divination. Hmm. And you can do this whenever you'd like?"

"Pretty much. Sometimes it's not as accurate though." Victoria shrugged, moving her attention toward Hiei who had begun to watch them with quiet interest some moments before. "You want me to tell your fortune?"

He shifted his attention to the woman herself, then narrowed his eyes and looked to Kurama. "I have no idea what's she saying, she knows that right?"

"She's asking if you want her to read your fortune." Kurama responded with a slight smile. "She's very good at it."

"I'm not interested."

Victoria pulled the dismissal from his tone and gathered the cards, shuffling them back into the deck. With a hum of appreciation, she placed them back into their box and then into the container that housed her runes and notebook and special pens, along with her other materials. On more than one occasion she'd been called a witch by classmates or the people who knew her family.

She guessed that was as good a word as any to describe her but she didn't really devote herself to the title.

Now Grams? Grams was a witch. Full on herbal-remedy, knows-where-to-find-trouble-and-how-to-stop-it, can-tell-what-you-need-looking-at-you, witch. Nothing less. She always called when Victoria needed her and had the most unusual aptitude of providing just the right thing for any situation. It was a strange, comforting ability. Not to mention if you needed protection or cleansing, Grams was the one to call.

No entity has ever been able to stand before Grams' charms without bowing.

Victoria? She was more of a hot mess. She knew the basics of magic. She knew what herbs to use if someone was sick or got a sunburn or felt blue. She knew how to cast her protection circles and how to exorcise malevolent energy. But she wasn't even close to the same level. Granted, there wasn't much reason to be at Grams' level, honestly. Most of the calls for her help were the product of overactive imaginations and superstitious nonsense.

But sometimes it was more. And when it was, she called Grams.

Wetting her lips, she reached into the box and pulled out a piece of tourmaline that shone as dark as night. Slipping it into her pocket she rubbed it like a worry stone, Hiei's critical gaze affecting her a little less.

"I don't know how long you're going to be here. Maybe you should learn to talk." Victoria turned slowly, directing her words toward Hiei. "We need to be able to communicate."

"What's she rambling about?" Hiei turned to Kurama, annoyed.

"She wants you to learn to speak to her."

"Tell her to go fuck herself."

"He's disinclined." Kurama voiced instead and from Hiei's face the other man knew the fox had toned down his statement. "Hiei doesn't like to talk much, as I'm sure you know."

"Sure." Victoria nodded, then began to move her hands as she spoke. "But what if he could talk without speaking?"

"Sign language?" Kurama eyed the precise movements of her fingers she spoke.

Victoria flashed him a smile, then nodded. "Just some basic signs, meant to at least allow him to tell me when he needs something. Food. Clothes. Help. Whatever."

She continued to sign the entire time she was speaking and the rapid articulation of her hands mimicking the flow of her speech made Hiei arch a brow.

"What is she doing now?" He demanded, put out.

"She's using sign language. It translates spoken word into hand movements so that someone who is deaf or mute or otherwise unable or unwilling to speak for whatever reason can communicate." Kurama explained. "She's suggesting you learn this language. You won't have to talk and you'll only have to learn a few gestures to get by."

Hiei rolled his eyes. "No."

"I think she has a point." Kurama argued. "You need to be able to speak to her on some level."

"I have you." Hiei pointed out, unamused. "What do I need to communicate with that woman for?"

Kurama frowned. "Hiei, we could be here for a while. It would be best to make the most of the circumstances."

"No." Hiei repeated firmly, glaring now. "I'm not interested in making myself comfortable here. I don't want to acclimate. I don't want to do anything that might stall us finding our way back."

"Hiei." Kurama sighed the name as if it exhausted him. "Please. Just, for once, attempt to be reasonable."

" _No_." Hiei emphasized the word, arms crossed over his chest as he sneered.

"Suit yourself." Kurama glared back, gaze turned cold in that way it did when Hiei overstepped in some way. A precise and swift punishment was brewing in those glinting green eyes.

Hiei, planting his feet, felt he could handle whatever was coming his way. This place wasn't home. There would be no crawling vines trying to ensnare him here, no carnivorous plants to look out for. Without his powers, Kurama was merely a human man unaccustomed to losing. So what?

This mentality, Hiei soon learned, was gravely ill-informed and undermined the true pettiness of Kurama's nature.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Alright, so, since I'm juggling three languages in this (sign, English and Japanese) I thought I'd provide a key for how they are depicted.**

" _ **Japanese will be italicized within quotation marks, as I'll only refer to it when its spoken."**_

 _ **Sign will be italicized, without quotation marks.**_

" **English will be done normally."**

 **Also, this chapter took forever to craft and I'm very tired. Love y'all, enjoy. Also, I'm open to idea for what you'd like to see in future chapters. I have running notes but my brain isn't handling things very well at the moment.**

* * *

" _What's for breakfast_?" Hiei asked Kurama, and the redhead pointedly ignored him. _"Fine. Ask the woman._ "

No response, no indication the other man had heard him.

It had been like this for _days_. Kurama spoke to Victoria exclusively in English now, the words coming fluidly to his tongue and she demonstrated those hand gestures to him with every syllable that poured from her mouth.

And there were _a lot_ of syllables. The woman hardly stopped talking. It was as if she were afraid she'd lose her voice if she didn't use it constantly.

"Does he need something?" Victoria nodded toward Hiei and Kurama didn't even glance in that direction.

"He's fine." Kurama smiled warmly.

"You don't think this is going a little far? I mean, I don't want him having a tantrum and tearing up my house." She cast a look toward the dark haired man who glowered at both of them before stalking to the fridge himself and pulling out a package of deli meat. She watched at Hiei pulled a few slices from the container then shoved them into his mouth as he stood with the fridge door open. "He's a bit more agitated lately."

"He'll learn to adapt." Kurama assured her, but his tone had turned chilly when he glared at Hiei's back. "I refuse to baby him and lean into this stubborn nature of his. I'm not his caretaker and he should have the sense to cooperate with allies by now."

"We tend to call people friends 'round here." Victoria laughed.

Hiei cast her a dubious glare, then shot the same look to Kurama.

"He'll come around." The redhead grinned, but even to the woman who'd only known him for less than a week it looked forced. "Hiei, as I'm sure you know, changes through demand. Given any lenience he will remain rooted in his ways."

"I dunno, I mean, I feel like the whole reason Yusuke earned his trust was by offering it first. That kindness seemed foolish but Hiei really responded to it." She argued, leaning on the counter with her elbows. "I don't want him to associate me with annoyance."

"Trust me, at the moment I'm the cause of his frustration. He views you as a byproduct." Kurama deflated some. "I hate to admit his opinion of people hasn't changed very much over the years."

"People do sort of suck." She allowed, then winked at Kurama and earned a genuine smile from him. "Alright K-drama, Café de Victoria is open for business. What can I make you and our dour _ally_ for breakfast?"

"Don't make him food until he asks you directly." Kurama shook his head. "But I will eat whatever you make for yourself."

"Frozen waffles and scrambled eggs coming right up. Now, when you eat this, don't be alarmed by cooking prowess. I know it might overwhelm an unrefined palate, but, in time you'll learn to ascend to my level." Victoria spoke seriously but with a smile and it earned a chuckle from the man across the bar from her as she set about her morning task.

* * *

Kurama napped upstairs as Victoria sat on the back porch, laptop poised on her lap as she rocked mindlessly in the wooden rocking chair. The sun was bright, the humidity up, and the citronella candles barely kept the mosquitos at bay. Midday found her lazy, hiding in the shade of the porch as she worked. Every now and then, she would glance to the side and watch Hiei study the world around him.

It was sort of adorable, how he jumped the first time an anoles scurried passed him.

The little green reptiles were quick, small and plentiful. Not nearly quick enough to avoid Hiei's agile fingers, but they tried. Feeble creatures. He snatched one from the railing of the porch, studying it as it struggled in his hand. Victoria watched him with fascination, looking up from her laptop.

"They're pretty cute, right? When I was a kid I used to hang them from my ears." She laughed at herself, signing the story as she spoke it. Hiei rolled his eyes to her then away, not sure why she continued to bother trying to communicate with him in that gibberish native tongue of hers.

Hiei looked the lizard over again, then with a shrug, he popped the animal into his mouth.

The horror that pooled through Victoria was visceral and real, draining the blood from her face.

"Get that out of your mouth!" Victoria shrieked, running over to Hiei who stared at her as if she'd lost her mind. "Spit it out! Spit it out! Kurama!"

Hiei swallowed the lizard with a look of utter annoyance and boredom.

"Gross!" She paled, gagging some and trying to fight the sensation. "Oh fuck, that's so gross Hiei! You can't just eat lizards! WE HAVE FOOD UPSTAIRS."

He stared at her dully, silently reminding her he had no clue what she was saying. Even now, in her hysteria, she used those damned hand gestures wildly.

"Lizards aren't food!" She signed the words as she yelled them, disgusted.

Hiei rolled his eyes as Kurama came jogging out to them, looking quite frazzled.

"Hiei ate a fucking lizard." Victoria turned to the redhead immediately. "He's not listening to me. You need to tell him he's disgusting and to cut that shit out."

"I don't understand." Kurama blinked turning to Hiei, " _Why_?"

" _It was there."_ Hiei shrugged, speaking in Japanese. " _I'm not asking that woman for food. And you're ignoring me. I'll fend for myself._ "

"Why isn't he disgusted with himself? He should be disgusted with himself." Victoria pointed at the spiky haired man. "Gross, you're fucking gross. Go brush your teeth."

Her admonishment and order was administered in sign as well as verbally. Hiei smirked, stepping toward her and watched with glee as she ducked away from him. He moved toward her again and she moved behind Kurama, using the taller man to shield her from his shorter counterpart.

"Get away from me Lizard Eater." Victoria warned. "I will end you. Fucking cretin."

" _Hiei go brush your teeth."_ Kurama sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. " _And throw out your toothbrush afterward. We'll get you a new one."_

" _It's not that bad. I barely chewed."_ Hiei huffed.

" _Disgusting."_ Kurama chided, scowling. " _Just go."_

Hiei rolled his eyes, stalking toward the house with a _hmph_.

* * *

Hiei stared at the woman. Her head rested on her arm as she slept against the counter, slumped over. Her laptop's screen still vibrantly lit, the charger plugged into the wall underneath her, earbuds tucked into her ears. She didn't move as he walked closer, totally unware of her surroundings. He studied the counter around her, picking up one of the many notecards littering the bar. Crimson eyes moved back to the sleeping face.

She'd written out a bunch of labels in kanji, another word written above and below in Latin script. He glanced around the kitchen and living room, noting that she'd fixed several labels into place already. Hiei set the card in his hand back onto the counter. Her handwriting was atrocious, but given that it wasn't her first language, he guessed it wasn't half bad. He could read it.

"You must be something special. Victoria never leaves her men where I can find them." An old woman teased from behind Hiei, causing him to spin around on the defensive.

She assessed his pose and narrowed eyes before glancing at Victoria, who continued to sleep soundly.

"You are here with her right?" The woman gestured to the sleeping girl. "A friend of Victoria's?"

"Victoria." Hiei spoke the name slowly, the syllables foreign to his tongue. Then he glanced at the bearer of the name and back to the woman. " _She brought me here. Who are you?_ "

The old woman stood taller than Genkai, the only other human around her age he'd ever met, but her hair was equally grey and cropped close to her head. Her rounded cheeks still held considerable color, her blue eyes lively. Her stature reminded him of Victoria, and he was certain they were related. She walked over to the counter and picked up a notebook to the side of the laptop, reading back a few pages. With a nod, she glanced back at Hiei.

"Hiei, huh? You hungry?" She asked then nodded again, flipping back a page. " _Would you like to eat?_ "

The awkward pronunciation of the phrase made Hiei raise an eyebrow. He stared at her, then the notebook in her hand, then to the sleeping woman. He'd assumed Victoria and Kurama had been in league with each other when it came to refusing to speak to him. The old woman set it back down, moving into the kitchen to rummage through the refrigerator and cupboards, speaking the whole time despite Hiei being unable to understand. He swiped the notebook up and glanced at the words, unable to recognize most of the language. But there were a few phrases written down in kanji.

Mostly instruction and key phrases. His name. Questions directed toward him, he was sure. Some answers he might offer. Underneath the words were what he determined to be pronunciations. Above them, more Latin script.

On the last page there was a note written in rough kanji, the contents of which took time for him to decipher from the lack of grammar and misused symbols. This woman was a mess, but he got the gist of her message. She described that she was labeling as much of the house as she could so he could find things comfortably and so she could learn to speak to him more easily since he wasn't going to come to her. She was sorry for the lack of familiarity with Japanese.

He looked up as two plates were set on the counter, on top of the notecards. The old woman smiled warmly and gestured to one of the plates and then to him. She pointed at herself last.

"Grams." She said the word and pointed at herself again.

"Grams." Hiei repeated, testing the name. His eyes moved to the food. Eggs, meat and toast. He sat down at the bar, taking a small tentative bite as his eyes stayed glued to this new stranger.

She watched him with obvious mirth, slowly sliding the other plate closer to Victoria's face. The hand that had been hanging down limply rose to the counter and pulled a piece of bacon into her sleeping mouth, eyes still closed as she chewed. Hiei watched in muted fascination and horror at the display as the girl continued to eat without actually waking up. What sort of bizarre monster was she, exactly? Then almost as if she'd heard his question, her eyes blinked open and moved to his face.

He'd expected more a reaction once she came to. Maybe some squawk of concern that he was still there. A cry for help at the glare settling over his features. Even lifting her head would've been within the realm of possibility, but Victoria did none of those things. She met his glower with a heavy-lidded smile.

"Ohayōgozaimasu." Then she slowly rubbed her eyes and rose to sitting, stretching her shoulders and neck. What honorific did she offer him? San? Senpei? Kun? No. Not that one. Never that one. Her ragged brain pulled up all the information she'd scoured the night before. What time was it? Oh. She'd only been asleep for three hours. "Coffee, please."

"Why are you bleeding?" Grams demanded, passing over a piping cup of the coffee, colored caramel for all the creamer added to it.

Victoria looked down at her left side, the blood staining her shirt in full view when she extended her arms over her head to stretch some more. Hiei had noticed it too, apparently, as his eyes wouldn't leave the wet mark. Curiously, Victoria hiked the hem of her shirt up over her ribs to reveal the gash had seeped through the gauze she'd re-applied the night before.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just got stabbed at a haunted house." Victoria waved off all concern.

" _You haven't healed?_ " Hiei demanded, pointed to the wound. _"How weak are you?_ "

Grams and Victoria looked at him from the corner of their matching blue eyes then turned back to each other as if he hadn't spoken.

"I told you not to go to those things. You're going to bring demons in here again. Remember last time? We had to remodel the whole bathroom." Grams fussed. "Girl, I swear to the good lord above, you make my hair greyer every single time you open your mouth."

"Did a pretty redhead come downstairs?" Victoria yawned around the words, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"No, but I believe I saw one sitting on the pier." Grams looked her granddaughter over. "You were right, he's definitely not a panda."

"That little shit ate a lizard yesterday, Grams. A fucking lizard." Victoria rubbed at her eyes and yawned again. "He's a garbage panda at best."

" _Why are you doing this?_ " Hiei gestured to the notecards, holding one up.

Victoria just stared at him dully, sipping her coffee. He frowned back at her, asked the question again, shaking the card.

"What's he asking you?" Grams wondered. "He seems confused."

"Doesn't matter. I can't answer him." Victoria sighed let her head fall back on her neck. "I was trying to convince him to learn sign but he's an ass."

"I think he's handsome, even if he is small. You need to feed him more."

"He's a grown man, Grams, he's not getting any taller." Victoria lamented, shooting her grandmother a look. "And he's still an ass, handsome or not."

"Seeing him in person I understand that weird fetish you used to have those cartoons." Grams nodded. "The men _are_ pretty, aren't they?"

"I can't deal with this right now. I'm exhausted and drained." Victoria whined.

Hiei grew annoyed with getting ignored and slammed the card onto the counter, the noise barely earning a reaction from the purple haired woman. Grams, however, narrowed her keen blue eyes. Hiei shot her a dirty look, mouth opening to hurl something harsh.

"Sit down and eat." Grams demanded in a cool, firm tone.

Hiei found himself following the command he only barely understood, sitting back in his hair and grabbing his fork. After swallowing a bit of egg he stared at his hand, the plate, then slowly the old woman. Her gaze bore into him with a physical pressure, and when he found himself trapped in it, he couldn't look away.

"Where he comes from, he's a powerful psychic. I'm talking, mind-reading, telepathic, connected to the underworld psychic. Remote viewing too. The works." Victoria explained, waving a hand loosely toward Hiei. "He's not used to being bossed around or ignored."

"Well, he better get used to it. I will not tolerate that rude behavior." Grams looked away toward Victoria and Hiei exhaled, sagging forward a bit as someone had just stopped pulling his shoulders back.

What the hell were these women? He stared at Grams, then drug his attention to Victoria with a strange enough expression it made her sweep her gaze over him. Was that what Victoria had done to that idiot who'd been shouting at her? It seemed neither of the women appreciated loud men. He'd need to tread carefully lest they choose to force him to do something other than sit. Where was Kurama? He wished the fox had been here to witness what just happened so they could come up with countermeasures.

But, for the moment, it seemed he was on his own.

With resolute sigh, Hiei tapped at Victoria's phone which sat on the counter beside her laptop. " _You made it speak for you before. How do I do that?"_

She furrowed her brow, then shook her head in her lack of understanding. Hiei pressed his lips together.

" _I need to speak to you._ " He begrudgingly admitted and tapped the phone again. " _Make it translate._ "

Victoria glanced at Grams, as if to confirm that the other woman also had no clue what Hiei was saying. Then she grabbed the pile of notecards and started shuffling through them, eyes scanning over the English phrases quickly until she landed on a card and held it up to him. Then another. And another. Until Hiei pieced together a rough cut sentence.

This was going to take forever if he had to do this every fucking time.

 _I want to talk to you._ He traded out one of the cards _I need_ for this updated sentence. Then he pointed at the phone again and watched as understanding clicked. She pressed a button, swiped her thumb over the screen, and then drug the translator to life.

" _Why are you doing this?"_ He pointed to the cards, glancing at Grams to be sure his tone didn't earn the woman's penetrating ire again.

"So you'll stop eating lizards like a fucking goblin." Victoria grumped in response. "Kurama be damned, I have to be able to communicate with you."

He studied her for a moment, nearly amused the lizard thing bothered her so much.

" _I'm not using these cards."_ Hiei told her with a glare. _"It takes too long. Show me those hand gestures again._ "

"You mean sign language?" Victoria tipped her head to the side. "I thought you didn't want to use it. I made the cards so you wouldn't have to talk at all."

" _They take too long and your handwriting is poor_."

She nodded. _"_ We'll have to use them while you learn, probably. And they're good for me so I can learn some Japanese."

" _Not my problem. I don't care._ "

She smiled at him, despite his annoyed tone. Then plucked a card from stack showed it to him and signed the meaning of the word.

 _Thank you_.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I know it's been far too long. I've hit a dryspell recently when it comes to writing. But I hope y'all enjoy this none the less. You can actually thank Star Charter for this update because of a mood board challenge they issued on Facebook. I got inspired.**

Victoria sat on her back porch, overlooking the lake, and waited. It's what had eaten up most of her night so far, and she was fairly convinced at this point that it would eat up the rest. The lake was still, a sheet of glass reflecting a sliver of moonlight. Crickets chirped intermittently, but mostly, the night was quiet.

Too quiet.

Even the deer hadn't entered the yard and Victoria noticed that. She'd shut off all the lights in the house and she rocked in her chair, eyes straining through the darkness. Lifting an amber bottle to her lips, she continued to wait.

Because she had a feeling. And it wasn't a good one. But she trusted her guts and nothing would change that. She needed to be out here.

Even if it took all fucking night.

"You don't sleep much, do you?" Her question came out hushed as the back door opened. She really needed to get some WD-40 for those hinges. But then again, if they were too quiet, she'd never hear if someone snuck in.

The creaking could stay.

Hiei stepped out onto the back porch and eyed her. She offered him a few simple signs to get her question across, to which he shook his head.

He'd picked up the alternate communication style fairly quickly, in her opinion. It had taken her years to truly master the language, but Hiei had picked up enough to get by in merely two weeks. A testament to his stubborn nature or his quick mind, she wasn't sure. Granted, it still wasn't much. Hiei wasn't an ardent conversationalist, even when he used his hands. But in the two weeks that had passed Victoria had learned to speak _his_ language a little more.

Hiei operated on body language more than anything else. He spoke Japanese, but he communicated far more through his expression, posture and stance. And without the protection of her obsidian, his emotions radiated from him like heat waves off a furnace.

 _Awake. Why?_ Hiei eyed her with heavy speculation.

 _Waiting_. Honestly, it was nice to not have to speak.

Hiei tipped his head to the side, scanning his eyes over her and then sat beside her in the second rocking chair. His gaze swept over the yard. She didn't need him to say it, it rang clear enough in his silence.

He didn't know what she was waiting for, but he would wait too since she found it so important. Another thing about Hiei that had come to light in the recent days was his near-anxiety about understanding the world around him. Especially the world Victoria was a part of. When she touched her stones or cards he watched her with the most unnerving, unbroken stare, as if he could memorize her movements he could prevent her from using them against him.

Except she'd never attempted to turn her intentions against Hiei, so she wasn't quite sure where his phobia was coming from.

The door creaked again and both of them turned to eye Kurama as he walked out on silent feet.

Living with a pair of master thieves had given Victoria more than her share of heart attacks. These two just seemed to appear sometimes, their footsteps so quiet she never really heard them. In the house, as many measures as she'd taken to cleanse and protect space in recent weeks, she couldn't even sense their emotions. So, she'd be doing something like cooking and suddenly an arm would appear over her shoulder to reach something and she'd shriek, ready to use anything in her hand as a weapon.

Kurama had learned to warn her when he was behind her. She'd gotten him with a wooden spoon last week and she was almost positive he was still sporting a bruise. Hiei? Hiei got a sick joy out of startling her and tended to do it whenever he could. He'd gotten her earlier that day when she'd been changing clothes from the washer to the dryer. Just came right behind her and ghosted his fingers over her nape and sent her sputtering around trying to hit him.

Hiei, even in this world, was faster than she had any hope of being. His reflexes were on point.

She could learn a thing or two from him, but kept that idea tucked under her tongue.

"Did I miss the note about the house meeting?" Kurama wondered idly, fussing over a few strands of his hair that had knotted. "Why are we congregated on the porch at three in the morning?"

Victoria held one finger up to her lips and turned back to the yard to keep waiting. The sense grew stronger and she wondered if she'd needed both men with her for whatever was going to happen to come to pass. Once again she took a swig of her beer. It was then she noticed Hiei watching her and eying the drink. She offered the bottle to him and he snatched it, sipping it with trepidation. He pulled it away from his mouth to eye the label, then shrugged and continued to drink.

Kurama made a barely noise of surprise that earned him the most withering glare.

Victoria fished two more beers from the cooler, twisted off their tops and passed one to Kurama then kept the last for herself. Clinking her glass to Hiei's without blinking she said, "Prost."

Then she drank without blinking and moved onto doing the same to Kurama. Both men eyed her with great speculation but dismissed her actions as another quirk of this culture they didn't quite grasp yet.

"It's a superstition." She explained quietly to them. "If you break eye contact before drinking you'll have a year of bad sex."

Kurama snorted. "What does Prost mean?"

"Cheers." Victoria shrugged. "It's German."

"Are you also German or is this another example of the hodgepodge culture I should expect from this country?" Kurama had complained a few times about the mish mash of customs he'd been exposed to. It made it hard to know what to expect he'd said.

"I, like many Americans, have an eclectic background. But it is predominantly European. My family tree seems to mostly hail from Germany and the British Isles." She waved a hand to hush him. "We can get into my genealogy later."

The redhead sighed, annoyed. He disliked having his questions put off, Victoria had learned that early on. She really needed to make time to teach him how to use Google.

The three of them sat quietly, Kurama taking up the hanging swing, and they all looked over the yard. Kurama went to ask again why they were out there in the middle of night when Hiei cut him off with a short Japanese phrase. Victoria pointedly ignored them both. Polishing off her beer, she got to her feet and started to walk out onto the lawn, her footsteps as sure as anything.

Hiei got to his feet too, tensing as if preparing to fight. Kurama followed his lead, though far more languidly.

Victoria raised her right arm to study it, the hairs on the appendage rising of their own accord. Then her other arm and nape prickled as well. Her scalp tingled and the scent of ozone preceded the single bolt of lightning that struck a few feet in front of her. It threw her off her feet to the shouts of the men on the porch and she landed on her ass. Ears ringing and nose clogged with the scent of burning hair, she didn't care, not immediately anyway, about the soles blowing out of her sneakers or the ache in her legs. Instead she scrambled to her hands and knees and eyed the spot the lightning had struck, watching as the electricity rose in the form of a ball, trailed over the lawn for a few seconds and then dissipated. Her eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness again, the spots in her vision fading to nothing.

A snake, charred and one hundred percent dead, lay in the way of the burn marks marring the grass. Victoria crawled over the animal and cautiously pulled it into her hands, studying what she could see of the markings. Utterly bizarre that the thing seemed mostly intact. She dropped it to the ground and sat stunned for a moment before hands pulled at her shoulders.

Kurama forced her around to face him, long fingers pushing at her now bushy hair. He examined her as thoroughly as he could in the darkness before pulling her to her feet and onto the porch. Hiei turned on the outside light, immediately attracting moths. All at once the night came rushing back to life, as if it had been holding its breath for that very moment to occur and could return to its usual habits now that it had passed.

Cicadas screamed their song, crickets played theirs, a fish jumped in the lake and created ripples that destroyed the glasslike reflections from just moments before.

"Are you alright?" Kurama demanded, fussing over Victoria's hair still. "I thought you'd been hit directly.

"It was a snake." She turned to face the lawn again, confused. "Why did it hit the snake? What does it mean?"

"I haven't the faintest idea but please never do that again." Kurama begged her. "It was a spontaneous event, Victoria. You could have died."

"No. It was a message." She argued with him, shaking her head. "I need to make a call."

* * *

Hiei spun around to glare at the front door when it opened, the deadbolt releasing without warning or preamble. A tall brunette walked into the living room carrying two cups of to-go coffee and Victoria rushed from the kitchen to greet her.

"Fuck, Nessie, I can't even tell you-"

"I know." The new woman held out the coffee in her left hand. "Drink up baby, you've got a lot to explain."

Her brown eyes trailed over Hiei and then to Kurama.

"Like, a lot." She turned back to Victoria and waited a beat before the purple haired woman caught on.

"Right, sorry, it's been a long night." Victoria shook herself from her stupor. "Vanessa, meet the boys. Hiei and Kurama."

"No." Vanessa looked Victoria dead in the eye to utter the word then turned on heel and started to march toward the door. Victoria ran to block her. "You've lost your goddamn mind, Vick."

"I haven't." Victoria promised, then glanced behind Vanessa to the two men who had closed ranks with one another to watch. "They're the real deal, Nessie."

"They're cartoon characters." Vanessa turned and looked at the two men. "You know this is a ploy of some kind, right?"

"I put them through the ringer. Flesh and blood, verified by Grams."

That earned Vanessa's attention with a fan of her hair as she turned to gape at Victoria who nodded twice. Brown eyes went back to the men.

"No. It's impossible."

"There was a circle. A complicated one. I think there will be more." Victoria urged her best friend to believe her. "Tonight, I got the feeling I needed to wait for something. Then lightning struck the yard, killing a snake that was feet from me."

"It's warm, snakes are everywhere." Nessie argued.

"The bolt missed me by feet to hit the snake. Something is happening, Nessie. Something I need your help to understand."

"Is that what happened to your hair?" Vanessa scanned her gaze down Victoria with pursed her lips. "Girl, you look like you made out with a light socket."

"You should see my shoes." Victoria relaxed. "Nessie, I need you."

"You know I can't say no when you say that." Vanessa sighed heavily and then frowned, nodding. "Fine, fine. I'm here already. Tell me everything."

"Is that wise?" Kurama voiced finally, watching the exchange with wariness. "I don't know this woman, Victoria."

"She knows you." Victoria walked around Vanessa toward him. "She's been my closest friend my whole life. I trust her."

"I don't." He flickered his gaze to the newcomer.

"I hate to say it, but you're going to need to. If anything ever happens to me, it'll be Nessie who takes over." Victoria turned to the other woman for a second, more serious than she'd ever been in their presence. "She's the sole benefactor of my will."

"As a friend?" Kurama frowned. "Seems ill-advised if I'm being honest."

"We're soul sisters fox boy. Sit down and strap in. Let's get to the bottom of this mystery." Vanessa walked over to Victoria and squeezed the woman's shoulders. "I want to hear facts before theories, hon."

"Yeah, of course." Victoria tipped her coffee back and chugged the all twenty-two ounces of gas station cappuccino in mere seconds. "Let's start with the house."

By the time Victoria finished her explanations, with some input from Kurama, Vanessa looked mostly mollified. Their coffees had been drained and replaced with fresh mugs from the kitchen. Vanessa had taken out a notebook and scribbled as she asked questions, writing down all the information spoken to her.

"It's possible." Vanessa set her pen flat against the page of the moleskin. "I mean, it would be a hard pitch and if it happened it would alter our current knowledge of trans-dimensional theory, but it _is_ possible to punch a hole. Theoretically. Under the right conditions. Which, I should say, aren't a decrepit house."

"Finally you're on board with one of my theories." Victoria grinned. "Took you long enough."

"Captain Planet is _not_ a demon, Vick." Vanessa glared at her friend.

"He's an eternal spirit controlled by _Gaia_ that is summoned by creating a _circle_ of the five elements to perform a _task_. He is _one hundred percent_ a demon." Victoria shot back and then raised her hands to dissolve the conversation. "Not the point. The point is that these two are the real deal."

"The same deal you think is affecting the world at large." Vanessa gestured to the two men who were sitting next to each other watching the women talk with unnerving intensity. "His eyes are _really_ freaky in real life. Like, sort of pretty, but I feel like he might want to eat me."

"He ate a lizard two weeks ago so I wouldn't take that off the table." Victoria snorted and glanced at Hiei.

"I'm sorry, he did what?" Vanessa blinked then turned away from Hiei's unrelenting gaze.

"It's not important." Victoria smiled then let it falter. "He didn't even chew. It was awful. Again, not the point. Look, I need a favor."

"Sure, you earned one." The brunette slid her hand into her purse and produced a black pack of cigarettes with a lighter tucked into the front layer of thin plastic wrapping.

"That's not what I was going for, but thanks." Victoria accepted the clove cigarettes anyway, pulling one from the pack and taking the lighter with it before passing the closed box back to the other woman. "I need you to babysit."

"Them?" Brown eyes flicked to the two men who had shifted their daunting attention to their purple haired hostess.

"Yeah. I got a job. I'll need to be there in a few hours. I don't feel right leaving them home alone. Could you keep an eye on them?"

There was a lapse in the conversation as Vanessa turned back to the two men. Kurama stared at Victoria who seemed to be studiously ignoring him. Hiei squinted, eyes darting between the two women and he asked the redhead something in a quiet voice. The answer he received earned Victoria a particularly harsh glare.

"Ask Grams." Vanessa suggested, shaking her head.

"Hiei doesn't like Grams. She makes him nervous. I don't like it when he's nervous because I don't know what he's capable of." Victoria pointed out.

"Kurama doesn't like me." The other woman countered. "And quite frankly I'm not keen to find myself on his shit list if he's half as smart or cutthroat as he's been depicted as being."

"Kurama speaks English and can be reasoned with. Don't worry, if he doesn't like you he'll skirt around you and watch your every move while questioning your motives for at least a few weeks before he decides to kill you." Victoria shrugged. "Plus, he doesn't know you. He doesn't trust what he doesn't know."

"Do we get a say in this?" Kurama voiced from his post on the chair, Hiei perched on the over-stuffed arm of the seat. "I'd rather us just go with you than be left with a stranger as though we were unruly children."

"Yeah, why aren't you taking them?" Vanessa asked, tilting her head. "I thought sharing this with them would be a wet-dream come true for you."

"I have to go during the day." Victoria hedged answering. "If I'm not back by midnight call the cops and let them know. I'll leave the address."

"Victoria." Vanessa said her name like a whip cracking and it made the other woman wince as she got to her feet. "What are you facing?"

"I don't know. But I'm taking the black bag." The purple haired woman patted Vanessa's shoulder as she headed for the stairs. "I'm going to shower the static out of my hair and I'll be back down."

"Black bag?" Kurama asked and she paused on the stairs to look at him. Then she smiled, winked and pointed to Vanessa.

"I guess if you want to know, you'll have to ask Nessie."

Kurama sighed, expression flattening and he turned to the brunette. "What does that mean, black bag?"

"It means she can't afford distractions." Vanessa frowned. "My guess? She's facing an actual demon. Maybe a poltergeist. Something strong."

"By herself?" Kurama frowned too, eying the stairs. "If she'd allow us to go with her-"

"This isn't your world. You don't have any power here and Victoria is good at what she does." Vanessa got to her feet and started toward the kitchen where she rinsed her coffee mug before placing it in the dishwasher. Her hands gripped the counter as she stared at the drain. Then she let it go and turned back to the two men. "She's worried about you two."

"We're adjusting." Kurama unfurled slowly, rising to his full height.

"She'll find a way to keep her promise. I just hope it doesn't take too much from her to do so." Vanessa wet her lips and exhaled before shaking her head. "Anyway. We might as well get to know each other since we're going to be spending the day together."

* * *

The downside of working during daylight hours was the heat. The thick, wet heat that forced Victoria to sweat despite being in shorts and a tank top. Her boots were heavy, dirty and her jacket was slung over her black duffle bag. The claw marks raking through the wallpaper crept closer. She glared at them, rolled her eyes and finished the circle of salt she'd been crafting around herself. Some things were too powerful for regular, run-of-the-mill Morton's Iodized, so she'd brought the heavy hitters with her. Salt with black pepper, cayenne and sage.

An ungodly screech followed the completion of the circle and the furrows began to appear right on its edge, quick and shallow but growing deeper.

"You can relax." Victoria pulled the clove cigarette and lighter from her jacket pocket and lit up as she sat inside the safety of her circle. "You're not scaring anyone here buddy."

Another howl, and the humidity suddenly worked against her in a different way. Frost formed on the windows and spread over the aged hardwood. The sweat on her nape formed a chilly line down between her shoulder blades before the bead was absorbed into her bra band.

"Spoopy." She muttered and began to parse through her bag, pulling out a small metal bowl, some incense cones, a few jars of herbs and a handmade book with a sewn spine and parchment paper pages. Worn, well-loved and bulging with ink and taped on add-ins. She exhaled a line of clove smoke slowly, lighting the incenses with the same lighter she'd used for her cigarette.

Another screech and a blast of ice-cold air made her lift her gaze from the fluttering pages in her lap and she squinted, looking around.

That was a _lot_ of rage. Her left hand rose to caress the obsidian, amethyst and jasper pendent around her neck. Swallowing, she focused on herself. On her breathing, on her own emotions, on the sound of the blood pounding in her ears. No, not that. Breath in, slow, four seconds. Hold it for three. Release, slower, seven seconds. Perfect.

Her lips lifted and she poured a helping of herbs into her palm, measuring them by sight before adding them to the metal bowl and the incense.

"Alright big boy. Time for you to get the fuck out." She set them ablaze, then smirked. "You're not welcome here. Get back where you came from."

The frost crept closer, the air so cold she shivered.

"You're not welcome here. Get back where you came from." Victoria repeated, her breath coming out in puffs of condensation and smoke. "You're not welcome here! Get back where you came from! YOU'RE NOT WELCOME HERE! GET BACK WHERE CAME FROM!"

It all stopped. The smoke rising, the furious scratching digging up the floor. The wrathful howling. The room was swallowed up in silence and cold and Victoria lifted her eyes from the pair of shining wingtips up tapered suit pants to the smiling face of a man in a fitted button down, y-back suspenders holding up the pants.

Without a smile, Victoria slowly got to her feet. Her fingers clutched her necklace as though she wanted to shatter it. With a shaky breath so greeted the demon.

"Dorian."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Not a long chapter, but I felt the urge to write so I did. I haven't decided on an update schedule for this one yet so I'm trying to do it whenever I can or when the mood strikes me. I'll eventually nail it down. Probably. Thank you all for all your support!**

* * *

"Dorian."

The name fell from Victoria's lips like a drop of poison. Even if the room hadn't been nearly frosted over she still would have felt like she'd been thrust into a walk-in freezer. Her blood slowed in her veins, a sickening twist of her guts trying to ignite her to run.

But she couldn't because she was _in_ the circle and he _wasn't_.

Swallowing thickly, she straightened herself, releasing her pendant from the desperate clutch of her fingers and eyed the demon. He hadn't changed at all. Still sported his slicked back hair with the side part, the strands as dark as night and matching his nearly black irises. Or maybe they were black, honestly she never got close enough to tell. Of all the fucking creatures to pop up.

"You look as lovely as ever." He flashed her a smile that revealed teeth and reignited her desire to flee.

"Don't bullshit me." Victoria snapped at him, nerves rattling her voice. She knew her hair was a mess and her arms and legs still bore the Lichtenberg figures from her earlier brush with lightning.

Those too-dark eyes traced the designs branded temporarily into her flesh with too much attention. She grabbed her jacket and shoved her arms through the sleeves. Neither of them spoke for a beating second and then Dorian took a step left, beginning to pace and Victoria pivoted to keep him in sight. That seemed to amuse him because he cast her a smaller smile.

"You've been awfully busy lately." He spoke with absolute certainty, as he always did. "Your house has recently gone entirely off the grid. When was the last time you went to such lengths to shield yourself? Six, seven years ago?"

Victoria kept her mouth shut. She wasn't about to tell him it had been eleven years. Whatever Dorian was after he wanted badly enough to manifest here during a cleansing. And if it was that important to him, she couldn't allow him to get it.

"Why so quiet?" Dorian asked when she didn't respond. He continued his circle around her slowly. Dark eyes traced the salt line with disinterest. "You're being particularly cautious lately. Could it be that you've encountered something that put the fear of-for lack of a better term-god into you?"

Blue eyes glanced down toward the herbs and the incense then the bag. What she had out wasn't enough, not for Dorian.

"Don't do it, Victoria. We both know it won't work." He sighed, put out with her. "You can't exorcise me."

"I know." She wet her lips and crouched, pulling her handgun from the safety of the duffle bag, holding it carefully at her side.

"This again." He gestured with a laugh. "Darling, you'd think you'd learn."

"Get lost." She told him coldly. "I'm not going to tell you anything."

"What came out of that house, Victoria? What did you allow to follow you home?" Dorian stepped to the line of salt his smile fading to nothing. "What are you protecting?"

Victoria raised the gun, leveling it at his chest. "Back off, Dorian."

It happened all at once. A rush of events strung together precariously by the limits of human memory. Victoria pulled the trigger. Dorian stepped over the salt, crushing the clove cigarette she dropped. She wasn't actually sure which had happened first. But the bullet found its home, embedded in the demon's ribs and his hand curled around her throat, hoisting her off her feet to dangle in his grip. Even still she fired off two more shots before he batted the gun out of her hand. Wind tore through the space, destroying her circle and upsetting her ritual. The pages of her grimoire shifted in the gust. It chilled her to her very bones.

"Your pathetic little safety measures don't work on me." Dorian hissed the words at her, squeezing as she grabbed at his fingers, trying to pry them off of her. "You could have made this easy, Victoria. You could have made an ally today."

"I saw-" She choked out, "-will-o-wisps. At the lake."

Dorian tilted his head and released his hold. She hit the ground with a gasp, both for air and at the pain that radiated through her ankle which twisted under the brunt of her full body weight. Wincing, she placed a palm over the joint over the leather of her boot and then glared up at him.

"Interesting." He stated evenly. "What else?"

"Something is happening." Victoria breathed shallowly, her throat incredibly sore from his crushing grip. Her voice sounded rougher, even to her own ears. "You've noticed it too."

"Yes and I think you know what's causing it." He informed her. "The circle in that house, it was like nothing I've ever seen. What came out of it?"

"I don't know." She lied, blatantly and without regard for the consequences. Let Dorian kill her. She couldn't lead him back to the boys. Not while they were defenseless. "Wait."

He smirked at her, crouching down to stare into her eyes at her level.

"You sent me into that house." Victoria accused, glaring at him.

"I needed an expert." He informed her with that same dangerous smile. "Who else would I call on other than my old friend?"

"Fuck you. We are not-" She cried out as his hand wrapped around her injured ankle, fingers squeezing. When his grip relented she panted, sweating despite the chill. "Just fucking kill me already, you piece of shit. I'm not playing any more of your games."

"Kill you?" Dorian leant forward and on his hands, perched on his toes so he could stare directly into her face. His irises were black, as it turned out. That was something Victoria had never wanted to confirm. "Oh no, darling. You're far too useful to me right now. I can't allow something as valuable as you to _die_."

"No!" Her scream did nothing to prevent him from placing a kiss on her forehead. The gentle act was quickly countered by the immediate fire that spread through her veins searing behind her eyes and through her brain. She barely registered the demon chuckling in appreciation as she writhed from the pain, laying completely on the floor.

Dorian brushed her hair away from her face, tracing the contour of her cheek and jaw. "Come now, Victoria. That one was free of charge. There are worse things in the world."

"Yeah, you." She panted and her voice was obliterated now. Between the heat and the screaming and this sonuvabitch's iron grip she could barely recognize her own words. The fire had seeped away and left her with a headache to end all headaches.

"You'll stay alive and you'll find out what I need to know." Dorian informed her matter-of-factly.

"But that doesn't mean I'll ever tell you." She hissed at him, slowly sitting up as he watched.

"I'll get my information, darling. We'll either do it the boring way or the fun way. And you know how I love it when you put up a fight." He patted her cheek and she had half a mind to sink her teeth into his hand. "I've always admired that spirit of yours."

"Where's my gun?" She demanded looking around for the weapon. In a quick scurry on her hands and knees she bee lined for the weapon, grabbing it before rolling onto her back and using both hands to steady it on her target. "Get the fuck out of here, Dorian."

"If you insist. By the way, how quickly can you craft a new circle?" He asked, rising to his full height, hands in his pockets. "Just curious."

Victoria furrowed her brow and then relaxed for a second once the demon vanished from sight. It was always such a weird thing to see, because it took her brain a moment to register what happened. He was there one moment and then gone. Her reprieve was short lived because the minute she laid her head against the cold hardwood everything began moving again.

Including the furrows being raked into the floor. With a snarl she jerked herself upright and dashed for her bag but her ankle caused her to stumble. The entity in the house clawed at her calf and she hit the ground like a sack of potatoes. But she was within arm's length of her black bag so she grabbed it, trying to ignore the blood and searing pain as she desperately fished around what she needed.

It's amazing what you can do with a dollar store spray bottle, salt, water, and a mix of essential oils when it comes to cleaning the shit out of bad energy. She sprayed the enhanced moon water directly where the claw marks appeared next and the screeching began again. With quick, jerky movements she doused the floor around her with the spray, forming a quick circle. If she'd been Grams, she could have just visualized one. But she wasn't Grams and Dorian had ruined her ability to concentrate and she was furious and this needed to be over now.

With anger and fear lining every muscle fiber in her body, she got to her unsteady feet again. Inhaling deeply she closed her eyes and held her hands out in front of her. Now that she had a moment of safety she tried to breath slower, focus. Visualize roots extending from her feet into the earth below. The screeching grew louder as she grounded herself. She didn't have enough energy for this shit. Not now.

But she had no other choice with her ritual ruined.

Fucking Dorian.

Flat footed and steady, her breathing even a tingle slithered up spine from her legs, then down her arms and it warmed her palms. Her broken ankle didn't matter, not right now. Neither did the cuts or the blood or the fact she sounded like Lindsay Lohan with laryngitis. All that mattered was that she was focused and this wailing, temper-tantrum throwing devil was about to be cast back to where it came from so hard it would be feeling the impact for centuries.

The water began to dry, her circle fading with that notion. It no longer mattered.

Blue eyes opened to slivers and she roared the only words she needed.

"GET THE FUCK OUT!"

The screeching cut off abruptly, the frost evaporating from the floor and windows. All at once the heat returned with its ugly humidity. The house was quiet and the warmth in her palms dissipated as she lowered her hands. Eyelids heavy, body swaying she simply stood for a moment. With a glance toward the cleared windows she realized it was already dark outside.

Well, shit.

* * *

When the Uber pulled up to her house, Victoria stared at truck in her driveway. A beat up old blue Ford with a bench seat and a stick shift. The thing had gone through enough engine work to be considered a new truck by her estimation. Every mechanical aspect of the vehicle having been replaced at least once in the last five years. Was it worth it to keep the old relic alive?

Yes. It was worth every lost goddamn penny.

If only for the sentimentality of it. The thing had belonged to her mom. It was one of the only things she'd left Victoria.

If the truck was here then it meant Billy had dropped it off for her. She'd had it in the shop for routine work that turned into all new brakes and some other expensive bullshit she didn't care about at the moment. She'd have to go into town and drop off a check for the mechanic but that could wait. No one would be there anyway, not at eleven thirty at night.

So she patted the tailgate as she passed it, limping her way to the front door. The lights were on in the living room. She guessed that meant Nessie was waiting up for her. She'd really cut it close to the wire on this one.

Fucking Dorian. Goddammit. If he hadn't shown up she'd have been done by lunch.

Taking a deep breath, she readied herself for Nessie's reaction before putting her keys in the lock. The guy driving the Uber had nearly had a heart attack when he saw her. He'd offered to call the cops if she was in trouble. Not that the cops could do anything for her, but he didn't know that so she'd called him sweet and tipped him way more than necessary. She turned her keys and stepped into the entry, dropping her bag and locking the door behind her.

To her surprise Nessie wasn't in the living room, but she heard voices from the back porch. Her eyes scanned over the living room before settling on Hiei in the kitchen. He had stopped whatever it was he'd been doing to stare at her. Then he yelled Kurama's name and the porch door flew open and the redhead rushed in to see what was wrong. Hiei gestured toward Victoria with a butter knife as Nessie came in hot on Kurama's heels.

"I'm tired." Victoria managed to say, fixed in place by the sudden drain she felt.

"Are you alright?" Kurama demanded walking over.

Nessie cut him off, running around him and grabbed Victoria's arm, helping the other woman limp into the living room. Green eyes narrowed as the brunette ordered Kurama to find the first aid kit. Hiei huffed when she demanded he bring her an ice pack.

"What happened to you?" Nessie fretted, examining the bruises marring Victoria's throat and then the claw marks on her leg before finally taking in the sight of her swollen ankle as Victoria kicked off her boots with little regard for blood or dirt she spilled on the carpet.

Just as Victoria was about to answer Hiei swore in Japanese, a plate crashing to the floor. Blue eyes closed and lips pursed as Victoria allowed herself to relax against the couch cushions. "An unexpected visitor."

"Is that your answer or are you talking about the plate?" Nessie demanded, grabbing the first aid kit from Kurama's hands as he presented it. The man sat on Victoria's right side, eyes roving over her with concern pinching the corners.

"Both." Victoria groaned. "Hey, Kurama, could you be a darling and get me some whiskey?"

"I'm not sure that's wise." He shook his head. "We don't know if you've injured your head."

"Hiei." Victoria turned to the shorter man when he presented a malleable ice pack. _Whiskey. Please._

Hiei shrugged then nodded and quickly returned with the whole bottle and no glass. Kurama glared at him. _"Drunk people talk Kurama, and you look like you want answers_."

Kurama made a face then nodded and Hiei smirked back at him.

"So, this unexpected guest of yours, was it a Mack truck?" Nessie asked, prompting the conversation to get back on track as she used an ace bandage to fix the ice pack to Victoria's ankle. Then she started to clean the blood from the cuts. "What the hell did this?"

"Something angry. It did a lot of screaming. Honestly, this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for that dickhead showing up unannounced in the middle of my banishment ritual. I was almost there." Victoria lamented, annoyed. The whiskey burned so good as it coated her tongue and throat, easing some of the ache.

"What dickhead?" Nessie poured alcohol over the cuts and when Victoria swore at her she just told her to stop being a baby. "Vick, you look like shit."

"I feel like shit." Victoria grumped back. "I haven't fucking slept since I woke up yesterday morning. I got struck by lightning-"

"Nearly." Kurama amended.

"And then _he_ showed up and I got mauled and had to do a banishment without any supplies and I'm _exhausted_." Her voice rose with each word, her frustration clear on her face. "Fucking Dorian."

"Dorian." Nessie's hands stopped and she stood up, having finished wrapped the wound in gauze. "Dorian showed up while you were alone. He did this to you?"

"This." Victoria gestured to her throat. "And the ankle. The scratches are from whatever it was that I sent packing."

"What did he want?"

"He wanted to know what came out of the circle I found." Victoria quieted down, bowing her head to look at her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. "He said he'd find out one way or the other."

"He could have killed you!" Nessie yelled, throwing her hands up. "Jesus, Vick. You could have _died_."

Kurama started at that, asking a bunch of questions all at once and Victoria just shushed them both with a quiet no.

"He wants me alive. He said I was too valuable. Then he kissed me on the forehead and I thought he was killing me anyway for a second. I think he," Victoria closed her eyes and fought back tears, "I think he did something to me. I don't know what. But I don't like it."

"Who is Dorian?" Kurama asked, matching his tone to Victoria's.

"He's a demon. Not like you or Hiei. Something else." She informed him, exhausting lining every word. "A powerful, malicious being who cannot be trusted. He works in trades normally, contracts. But this wasn't that. He's not to be taken lightly and quite frankly if he wants something I'd rather die than give it to him."

"Why would he kiss you?" The redhead was trying to be delicate, it rang clear in his tone.

Victoria just shook her head. "I don't know. It was a seal of some kind. Whatever it is, it can't be good. Dorian and I, we've crossed paths before. A few times. When I was younger I asked him for help with something and ever since he's popped up randomly. But this is the first time this has happened."

"Why would you ask a creature like that for help?" Kurama glanced at Nessie, who was gesturing for him to stop talking.

"Because I wasn't able to do what I thought needed to be done. In the end, neither was he. Our contract was nullified and I think that's why he likes to follow me from time to time." She responded, wetting her lips and lifting her head.

"What needed to be done so badly? What couldn't he accomplish?"

"Kurama, shut up." Nessie interjected hotly. "You're asking some personal questions right now and Vick has been through enough."

"I wanted him to save my mom." Victoria shook as she spoke the words, a tear already escaping her eye. "Just, I was a scared kid and I didn't want to lose my mom. But there was nothing he could do. Nothing I could do."

"Vick." Nessie sat on the couch and wrapped her arms around the other woman, stroking her purple hair and shooting the most scathing glare in her arsenal at the redhead. "Ask one more question and I'll make you regret being born."

"I'm so sorry, Victoria." Kurama ignored the threat and rested a hand on Victoria's shoulder, squeezing gently. "So, terribly sorry."

Victoria just continued to cry into Nessie's shoulder as Kurama rubbed her back. While the two of them comforted the woman Hiei watched from the kitchen glad he hadn't been caught in the crossfire of whatever emotional outburst this was. Instead, he ate the sandwich he'd been making when Victoria had come home. He'd been able to see her injuries when he'd brought her the ice pack and whiskey. None were life threatening.

Kurama would fill him in later, he was certain. There was no need for him to involve himself in whatever the hell was happening.

He would never admit it, but he'd been relieved when the woman had returned. She'd promised she could get them home and her friend had seemed to believe her. That meant Victoria needed to survive. She had to. Without her they were lost and as much as he hated relying on anyone else, this situation meant he had little choice.

So he chewed his sandwich and watched the three idiots console each other from a safe distance.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: this chapter is really short but I wanted to offer some sort of update. Thank you to those who reviewed, especially Elisayn whose review made my entire week. Thank you so much for your kind and wonderful message. I appreciate it so much. I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Kurama stared at the laptop and took a deep breath before slowly pecking out a few words and using the trackpad to hit the 'search' button. There, that wasn't so hard. He could get ahold of this new technology with enough practice.

"You can just hit enter." Victoria reminded him softly, leaning on him with one arm resting on his shoulder.

The redhead dipped his face down to study the keyboard, relocating the enter button and then nodded. Hiei made a derisive sound at his other side, earning a sharp glare. As if the other man had _any_ idea what this was about. He just wanted to annoy Kurama.

" _Did you want a turn to try, Hiei_?" Kurama asked with a smile, his tone a little sharp.

" _No. I'm content with watching you fail._ "

Kurama turned back to the laptop and scanned the page, reading each link and description before reaching to the right of the keyboard, his hand closing on nothing. Again. Inhaling slowly he corrected himself and used the trackpad to move onto the second page of search results.

"No one does that." Victoria pointed out, amused. "They tier the results based on your search that you'll get the most relevant info first. I'll write out some tips for how to structure your searches so you get what you want from them."

"Thank you." Kurama nodded. "So, explain this chatter site again? Vanessa asked me to get it. She said it would help to connect me."

"Twitter?" Victoria snorted, doing a poor job of covering her smile. "Yeah, okay. It's a place where you can express your thoughts to the masses in short form. Here, go to the search bar and type in Twitter. T-w-i-t-t-e-r."

He did as she asked, hunt and pecking the keyboard. When it popped up with the link in the search results he went back to the address bar and typed out h-t-t-p-s-/w-w-w-.-twitter-.-c-o-m before hitting enter. Victoria stared at him and wondered if that was a grey hair she felt forming or a headache. This guy was going to be the death of her. She'd seen ninety-year-old women with more computer proficiency. Reminding herself that he hadn't had the same exposure she reached deep down into her bank of patience and pulled it all up.

Every last ounce.

"Do you know all these people?" Kurama asked, gesturing to the screen as a list of most popular tweets came up. "I was under the impression you didn't have many friends."

"First of all, don't come for me like that K-drama. Secondly, no, I don't know these people." She informed him before offering a brief rundown of the point of the site. "It's better for phones, honestly."

His brow furrowed as she whipped out cellphone like an old west sheriff producing their six shooter. She opened the application, explaining how she never really used it, and showed him. "Most of the best sites are better on phones these days. Except Tumblr. That hellscape can't get it's shit together."

"Tumbler? What is that?" He scanned her face then turned back to the laptop, used the trackpad to highlight the url in the address bar and waited for her to tell him how to get to the site.

"Against my better judgement I will show you this, but be warned, this is the same as a blood bond. You got it? We are connected now." She gestured between their bodies. "Are you sure you want to do that?"

"It can't be that bad if it's on the internet." He told her flatly. "Who would intentionally share information with all the strangers of the world? Surely you're just being dramatic."

Man, this well of patience was going to dry up fast.

"You'll learn." She assured him with a pat on the top of his head and then directed him to the website, offering another brief rundown. After a moment of consideration, she looked at him. "You might want to avoid searching yourself though."

That made him pull his hands from the keys. "Why?"

"Just, don't do it, okay?" She told him firmly. "You guys are just fictional characters here, remember? Popular fictional characters. Who a lot of people like to idolize. You will find something you regret seeing."

"Thanks for the warning." He frowned. "Alright. I think I'm getting the grasp of this."

The next time he tried to long-write a url Victoria stopped him and demonstrated that he could just click a link or type a site with .com at the tail end. He wrote the tips down in a notebook she had provided him. While he began searching for gods knew what, she wrote out how to get better search results.

Hiei watched the redhead for a few minutes before grumbling and walking into the kitchen. Victoria had shown him where to find the inflatable tubes so he could lounge on the lake away from the idiots he was trapped with. He grabbed a beer from the fridge and took it with him outside, popping the can open as he located his tube and took it with him to the end of the pier. Tying it with a bit of rope to the last cleat so he wouldn't drift too far. If that woman had to reel him in again he'd kill himself.

Shedding his shirt, he hopped onto the tube, pushed off the dock and sipped his beer with a pair of stolen sunglasses shielding his eyes from the midday sun. Victoria was a pain in the ass but at least she had decent taste in eyewear.

* * *

"Explain it to me." Kurama demanded of Victoria cornering her in the kitchen with a feral look.

"It's called shipping." She raised her hands to ease him. "I didn't invent it."

"Do they not realize how outlandish and-" He began again, returning his tirade from moments before.

"I told you not to search yourself." Victoria reminded him with a sigh. "I knew this would happen. Look, you guys aren't _real_ , remember? It's just a bunch of people expressing themselves through art."

"That _is not_ art." He gestured to the laptop angrily. "It is a gross misuse of their talents. Their style is actually brilliant but I cannot condone-"

"Kurama, it's for fun. I'm sorry that you exist on this plane now and have to see it. I'm sorry that there is nothing we can do about it. You have to understand that fanfiction and fan art are just things that are done here. People adore you, you're one of the ultimate favorites of the series." She informed him as calmly as she could. "No one thinks twice about it because to them, you're a fictional character. Please try to understand that. Didn't you guys have comics and fanworks in your dimension?"

"I suppose we did." He admitted with a frown. "I pray none of those unfortunate souls ever have to witness the stories first hand."

"They aren't all bad. But yeah, some of it is pretty explicit." Victoria agreed with a cringe. Probably for the best not to admit that she'd ever indulged in such idle fantasies or ogled any of that 'gross misuse of talent'.

Which she definitely had.

She really needed to clear her browsing history.

"Anyway, it seems like you're doing alright." She informed him. "You getting the hang of it?"

"I've created an email for myself, established a tumblr account and created a facebook." He nodded. "Those seem to be the basics. I'm still researching though. Having such an abundance of information at my disposal is infinitely helpful."

"Yeah, it's pretty great." She agreed with a smile. "Do you think Hiei remembered to put on sunscreen?"

"Probably not. I wouldn't worry too much, he tans easily." The redhead shrugged and went back to the borrowed laptop. "I've been making notes about things that I'd like some clarification on."

"Sure. After I remind Hiei to get out of the sun. He may tan easily but skin cancer can be pretty aggressive." Victoria pushed open the screen door and stood on the back porch cupping a hand around her mouth. "Hiei! Get in here for a few! You need water and some sunscreen!"

He lifted his middle to her without moving another muscle in his body.

Fine then, he could fry for all she cared. Then she saw him raise his hands in what was surely a curt demand.

 _Bring beer._

"Oh fuck you, get it yourself!" She yelled at him, flipping him off as he lifted his head.

It was only a few minutes later that he stomped into the house with a glare at his hostess. Kurama bit his bottom lip to stifle a laugh. When Hiei threw the sunglasses onto the counter, not seeming to care if the lenses got scratched, white marks were revealed on his otherwise red skin. The sunburn was bad, nearly purple at his shoulders and bright red at its lightest. It covered his chest, shins, arms and face. Except for where the sunglasses had laid against his face. That was significantly paler. Along with his back, proof he hadn't moved positions in a long while.

Victoria squeaked when he emerged from the fridge and immediately grabbed a jar chilling in the door of the appliance. Without waiting for his consent she started to slather the sticky substance over his hot skin, fretting the whole time. The cold of the goop made him snarl at her, shoving her away.

Kurama got out his seat.

" _Don't touch me_." Hiei hissed the words.

"Hiei!" Kurama called, alarmed. " _She's trying to help you!"_

" _I don't need her fucking help._ " Hiei whirled on the redhead. " _I will not be accosted-"_

"Put it on yourself then." Victoria winced as she rubbed her back where it had hit the counter. She'd definitely have a bruise. "You've got second degree sunburn at least, Hiei. You're going to blister if you don't handle it."

He merely stared at her, capped the jar she handed him and shoved it back into the fridge before slamming the door. When he stalked away, it was Kurama who stopped him.

" _She's right. You need to apply her salve to your skin. This burn will grow painful, even for you_."

" _I'm made of fire, what is a little burn to me?"_

" _Don't make me prove the point, Hiei. Neither of us will enjoy it._ " Kurama glared at his friend. When Hiei slammed the screen door open Kurama sighed and raised his hand.

Victoria covered her mouth. The slap echoed through the house in the moment following it, seemingly stopping time as Kurama's palm met the top of Hiei's shoulder. The shorter man went visibly still, tension roiling through him and even the obsidian in her pocket wasn't enough to keep Victoria from feeling his pain and rage. He spun around and his fist caught Kurama in the jaw with such expert procession it was like watching a surgeon cut through muscle.

The redhead stumbled against the bar, knocking a stool over. He rubbed the sore spot where Hiei's knuckles had connected and then shot his friend the coldest, most reproachful glare.

But Hiei was still standing mostly still, a wash of paleness underlying the bright red of his skin. The hit had shocked him because it had _hurt_. He shivered and then locked his jaw against the wave of pain that radiated from the spot.

All his life he'd lived outdoors. His entire youth spent in an arid desert and hounded by the elements. He'd walked through the fires of heaven and hell without a scar. How then? How had the _sun_ bested him?

Victoria pressed her lips together as Hiei marched carefully back to the fridge, retrieving the jar he'd cast aside minutes before. Without looking at the woman he uncapped it and started to liberally apply the contents all over his chest, shoulders and face.

"You'll want to drink some water and take an ibuprofen too." Victoria informed him quietly, not too eager to be on the receiving end of his right hook.

Hiei cut his attention to her and she clamped her mouth close. Then he glared at Kurama, who had retaken his seat before the laptop with a raised eyebrow.

" _Are you going to help me or not?"_ Hiei snapped.

The redhead smirked, then directed their hostess to gather the supplies she'd suggested. Hiei accepted them begrudgingly, taking two of the pills with a glassful of water and then another. He shivered as the salve calmed and cooled his angry skin.

"Anyway, before Hiei so rudely interrupted I was going to ask you about the phenomenon currently occurring." Kurama leered at Victoria over the counter. "What is a Tide Pod?"

Victoria slapped her hand against her face and then offered a strangled cry toward the heavens. Gods help her, she couldn't. She just couldn't deal with this. Not from Kurama of all people.

"Looks, it's a stupid internet joke that got out of hand. It's a laundry detergent pod that people were joking looked munchable and it's not. Don't bother with it." Her exasperation made him pull back. "Some kids are taking it too far."

"Oh, so, it's just those things you use to wash our clothes." Kurama stated then nodded. "I thought they looked familiar. Your people have a strange sense of humor."

"Yeah, it's the absurdism born of constantly thinking the world is going to end." She shrugged.

Hiei looked between them, eyes narrowed. " _What?"_

Kurama glanced at him, found him shining from the applied salve and relented. " _There's a running gambit on the internet about a Forbidden Fruit_ _amongst humans. It's just the laundry detergent. Apparently some children find them suitable to eat."_

Hiei nodded, glanced toward the washer and dryer hidden at the back side wall of the kitchen by folding doors on sliding tracks that were currently closed. Forbidden Fruit? So easily accessible? Just like a tyrannical overlord of Victoria's caliber to deny such a thing's importance. What did this fruit offer? Power? Speed? Intelligence? Some skill of which he had yet to think?

He'd find out.

He walked over and threw the doors open, fishing one of the pods from the plastic box that housed them. It was brightly colored, orange and blue, and when he squeezed it between his fingers it offered a little give. With a head tilt Hiei studied it.

" _These things?"_ He asked Kurama, holding the packet up to be seen. The redhead nodded and Hiei scowled before placing the pod into his mouth.

He had never before been so thoroughly and relentlessly manhandled by a woman. Victoria was on him in an instant, had him pinned to the dryer and her crushing grip on his jaw paired with her unrelenting stare forced him into compliance. Those blue eyes bore into a piece of him and tugged at the strings that made him tick. He hated it. Against his will but apparently to appease her screeching, she pried the detergent pod from his mouth by force and threw it across the kitchen.

Her babbling made little to no sense to him until Kurama piped up with, " _She says they could erode your esophagus. It's best not to tempt the fates, Hiei."_

" _She could have said so earlier._ " Hiei grumped back, pushing the woman away from him with less force than before. _"You said they were a forbidden fruit."_

" _A hoax, it seems."  
_

" _That would have been good to know."_

"That's it." Victoria threw her hands in the air, done with the pair of them. "I'm putting locks and parental controls on _everything_."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Man y'all turned OUT for the last chapter. Thank you so much! All of your reviews were so amazing and I laughed at quite a few of them. I'm delighted so many of you are enjoying this story! I hope you guys keep enjoying!**

* * *

"Is that really safe?" Kurama asked Victoria, standing under the cover the pontoon at her side as she steered the boat along the surface of the lake. His attention alternated between focusing on how she operated the maritime vehicle and the fact that Hiei was perched on the front strip of the boat, beyond the little gate meant to keep them all aboard.

"He can swim, it's fine." Victoria shushed the redhead.

"Hiei can't swim." He responded dully, as if this were a common fact she should have known. "Why do you think he uses that floatation device?"

Victoria blinked, closed her eyes, and inhaled slowly. "Hiei! Put on a fucking life jacket."

He didn't even acknowledge that she'd spoken. Even from where she sat she could see the white streaks slathered over his back and shoulders, proof he'd allowed Kurama to put sunscreen on him before he'd donned his tank top. Through sheer rigorous effort on Victoria's part, Hiei had managed to dodge blistering and had gone through the worst of the peeling process fairly quickly. Ever since he'd gone through enough sunscreen to drown a small child.

Victoria stopped the boat without warning, the loss of acceleration wasn't so pronounced that Hiei went teetering off the front of the boat, but it was enough for him to shoot her a withering glare.

"Life jacket. Now." She demanded, pointing to the pile of them thrown haphazardly by the side entry.

He narrowed his eyes further, arms crossed across his chest. She smirked, opened the throttle for just second and cut it off again. Hiei wobbled, having to grab the gate for balance.

" _Fucking bitch! Stop that!"_ Hiei snarled at her.

"Life. Jacket." Victoria one again signed the word and then pointed to them. "Now, Hiei."

Kurama raised his eyebrows as Hiei visibly tensed then huffed, hopping over the jacket to grab one of the provided safety apparatuses. With jerky movements he shoved his arms through the holes and worked the claps closed. Tossing his hands in the air to demonstrate his annoyed compliance, he stared at her.

"You're hopeless, you goof." Victoria muttered, sighing as she left the controls to walk over to him. She tugged on the straps to make sure the vest fit him properly. "It won't work if it's not snug."

Hiei endured her fussing for a few seconds before pushing her hands away and glaring at her, his arms crossed over his chest. _Can we go now?_

 _Yes._

He groused as he hopped back to the front of the boat and sat down to enjoy the feel of the wind through his hair.

* * *

The trip to Grams didn't take too long, other than their mid-lake pit stop. It was way faster to go by boat than driving all the way around the massive body of water. Victoria had warned the boys to be on their best behavior before they docked next to another pontoon, one of three tied to the pier outside Gram's house.

The building stood with its main floor at ground level and the bottom floor cut out of the hill the house perched on. Large windows and sliding glass doors lined the lake-facing walls. A wrap around porch on the upper level was decorated with potted plants and outdoor seating. The porch created an overhang for the bottom story, allotting for shade to fall over two more outdoor tables with seating. A large grill set into an outdoor bar, built with bricks, took up a decent hunk of the space. Concrete paths wound through the large yard, palmettos standing tall and mixed in with magnolia trees. Flower beds full of thriving greenery edged the concrete floor of the bottom porch.

Now they stood in the mudroom of the upper story, greeted by the old grey haired woman and the sounds of a dozen voices muffled from below them. Children yelled in the yard, running around freely and barefoot.

"You remembered to lock the laundry room, right?" Victoria asked.

Grams offered her a smile. "Sweetie, you aren't dealing with children you know."

"Could've fooled me." Victoria muttered shooting Hiei a glare. "That one tried to eat fucking laundry detergent the other day."

"Maybe he wanted to clean his mouth after the lizard." Grams offered with a laugh. Kurama chuckled at her joke too, and Hiei glowered at both of them.

"Just…lock the door." Victoria sighed heavily then spun to face to the two men who had accompanied her. "You two listen here. There will be no accosting the other people here. No raising a hand to the kids _Hiei_ , even if they touch you first. You're free to wander, but you will not go into locked room. Eat what's out. Don't make demands." She signed the rules as she spoke them. Then, to Hiei specifically she said. "I told Grams you don't like crowds, you can go hide out in the guest room if you get antsy and need a break."

"I'll show you where it is, baby." Grams twined her arm around Hiei's and pulled him away from the mudroom further into the upper level.

He griped in Japanese the whole time, under his breath, but went with her. There was no way he was going to turn this woman's ire against him again. Last time she'd settled for making him sit down but who knew the extent of her power? With almost pleading eyes he turned to gaze at Victoria and Kurama, the redhead waving at him with a cheeky grin.

"Your job is to keep him in your sight at all times today." Victoria glanced up at Kurama. "I don't want him having an episode here. There'll be kids, y'know."

"So you mentioned several times." He replied smoothly. "Hiei has never raised his hand to a child that I've seen."

"Yeah, well, you'd never seen him with a sunburn before either." She pointed out quietly. "Look, some of my family can be…well, overwhelming to newcomers. You'll probably want to stick near my dad and his wife's family."

"Your father?" Kurama blinked in surprise. "You haven't mentioned him before. I had assumed you didn't have one."

She didn't respond, just walked toward a door that revealed a downward flight of stairs when she opened it. He left her to disappear to the lower level, going to find Hiei and Grams. He found them in one of the guest rooms. Grams was chattering away to the shorter man, who looked like he was in physical pain enduring her company.

"Grams, perhaps we should join the others?" Kurama interrupted her in the middle of explaining where exactly the bedding had come from.

* * *

Grams, Victoria and Bethany sat around the downstairs kitchen table. Bethany, a southern belle to her core with her blonde hair teased into an updo, sipped on her Bud Light and glanced out the sliding doors to the kids in the yard. Her daughter, Ashland, was the youngest of the children at four years old. A chubby little thing with golden ringlets and big blue eyes just like her momma. Her eyes roved over Hiei outside by himself, seen through the glass doors, and then the scene inside.

Victoria watched her with some reservation. Bethany was decent enough people. Won Miss Camden two years in a row when they were younger and was the leader of the school debate team and decathalon. A beautiful, intelligent young woman. Under different circumstances, Victoria guessed they might've been friends.

Instead she hated her. It was well hidden but it was always there.

Because Bethany was the daughter Victoria's father had always wanted. A normal, beautiful, successful girl who wore matching sweaters for Christmas photos and sent out thank you notes on time. It wasn't the woman's fault. It really wasn't. But Victoria couldn't help the bitter resentment that welled up whenever she saw her step-sister and her perfect family.

They'd been at the Sunday party for over an hour and her father still hadn't even greeted her. Victoria sipped her bourbon with more control than she knew she could exert.

Maybe Kurama and Hiei were training her patience for the better.

"That man is finer than frog's hair." Bethany nodded toward Kurama as he talked with Big Pop and a few of the other men near the pool table by the bar, eyebrows lifted. "Guarantee you he's fruitier than blackberry cobbler."

"He's a sweetheart." Victoria commented lightly, trying to hide her amusement. "Smart as a whip too."

"How'd you meet them again?"

"We just bumped into each other. Old friends from my college days." Victoria planted the seeds of the lie, as true as anything her step-sister would believe.

"That other one though, he seems like something else, I'll tell you what. Why's he so quiet? Is he, you know, touched?" Bethany gestured to her head, and possibly the brain within, but Victoria got distracted by the height of her hair. Grams left the table to head to the ornate bar lining the inner wall.

"Hiei just doesn't speak English but that man is gonna give me grey hair. I swear it. I tried to get him to learn but I'd have better luck teaching a dog to count."

"I believe it."

Grams walked over and brandished a bottle of bourbon, filling Victoria's glass with a little more leeway than usual. "You need another Bud, Beth honey? They're cold in the cooler."

"I'm on my way." The other woman retreated back into the house.

Grams came to sit beside Victoria once more, her eyes watching Hiei and Kurama just the same. With her silver hair and wizened blue eyes framed with crinkling skin she smiled.

"You've got yourself an uphill battle with those two."

"You're telling me." Victoria huffed. "This is the craziest thing that ever happened to me and the quarterback asked me to prom over the homecoming queen."

She sipped her bourbon and Grams followed suit.

"They're good boys though."

"The best, I'm sure of it."

"You tell those boys to treat you right. I'd hate to have pull out grandmamma's old book." Grams teased but the threat never lost its meaning, even with her smile.

"That's some old world shit, Grams. Thought we didn't talk about it." Victoria laughed. "You're going to scare the mundies."

"Don't call them that. Like us or not, they're your family." Grams chided. "Gifts or not, we're blood."

"Blood is only so thick." Victoria polished off her drink. "I've lost enough of it to know."

"I want some time with them." Grams gestured toward the men dispersed around the room, watching them carefully. "I want to see what they are about."

Victoria pursed her lips, ready to deny the other woman. Instead, she merely nodded, but made sure to frown about it. She'd positioned herself to keep an eye on both Hiei and Kurama with ease. Just in case.

"You're going to get wrinkles making that face."

"No sense putting off the inevitable."

Grams laughed again, nodding.

* * *

Hiei stared at the children as they screeched and ran and played. He glowered at the obnoxious amount of noise they were making, doing his best to avoid contact with any of the other party goers. Victoria had seemed uncomfortable with coming here. She'd tried to talk her way out of it, once again citing the presence of house guests but apparently Grams was having none of it. He closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair, feet propped up on the glass top table furthest away from the bustle of the gathering.

So far two middle-aged women had spoken to him, running their hands down his back and arms until Victoria pulled them away. Their tones had rung of compliments but it was all in that nonsensical _English_. He understood a few words now but not much more.

He had asked Kurama to interpret one phrase though, because Victoria had uttered it with such disdain he just had to know what it meant.

Vodka Aunts. Apparently, family members prone to bouts of alcoholism at family gatherings. Given the state of this particular family, Hiei couldn't blame anyone for needing to drink.

His eyes peeled open as he heard the ungodly shrill cry of one of the children. The smallest one. A little female child with round cheeks, large eyes, and a head burdened with light colored curls. He glared at her as she wiped at her eyes, large tears already falling down the curve of her red cheeks.

"Y-y-your me-mean!" She yelled at one of the larger children, a boy as she cried.

"You're such a baby." He scoffed down at her, hands on his hips. "You can't play with us because you're too _small_."

"I can too play!" She stomped her foot, fists at her sides despite her tears. "I'm telling!"

"Go ahead tattletale. We'll never play with you again." He grinned at her and it was a malicious expression. "Hey, you can play with us if you eat this."

He held up a worm that wiggled and curled in his two-finger fold.

"I'm not eating that!" The little girl yelled at him. "You're gross!"

"Guess you can't play then." His laughter grew worse as she started to cry harder. "Ashland's such a crybaby."

The boy stilled and Ashland hiccupped, her glistening blue eyes trailing up the figure that had robbed the laughter from the boy's throat. Hiei gave a warning squeeze, his fingers in the boy's hair as he palmed the child's head. When the boy cautiously turned to stare at him, he was met with a cold crimson glare.

A sweat broke out on the child's forehead as he stared at Hiei, who never relented in his harsh expression.

"I was just joking." The boy dropped the worm and swallowed. Hiei squeeze once more, a slight flex of his fingers that promised worse. "I'll say I'm sorry okay! I'm sorry Ashland! It was a joke."

"O-Okay." Ashland sniffled. Using her arm to wipe at her running nose.

Hiei grimaced at the disgusting display. Humans. Seriously. No matter what dimension he was in they were the same. But he released the male child's head and watched the boy trip over himself in his rush to rejoin the others as far from Hiei as possible. That earned a smirk. At least someone had the sense to be afraid of him.

Crimson eyes widened as a weight tackled his left leg. He looked down to stare with bewilderment at the little girl as she wrapped her arms around his leg, beaming up at him with a display of teeth he assumed was meant to be friendly and not a challenge. Blinking down at her he raised his eyebrows then narrowed his eyes.

 _Let go._

She didn't.

Pursing his lips, he pried the child's arms from around him, not appreciating the way her snot rubbed against his bare legs in his swim shorts. Victoria had bought them for him since he spent so much time on the lake and he'd worn them when she'd mentioned they'd take the boat. He regretted that decision now.

"Thank you!" She beamed up at him still. "You're nice!"

Nice? Him? Hardly. Hiei just didn't like watching meaningless torture if it wasn't in the pursuit of greater strength. So he crouched. If the child was going to endure, she should at least be able to defend herself, a skill humans neglected to instill in their children.

Hiei silently took the little girl's hand in his own and shaped it into a suitable fist. And then he pressed it to his palm, narrowing his eyes slightly. Ashland tipped her head to the side and then grinned at him, throwing a lackluster punch against his raised hand. Hiei sighed, forlorn. This was no good. Humans were just too weak to look after themselves. And this child's parents obviously weren't attentive enough to notice.

He bent down and picked her up, holding her out at arm's length to assess her for a moment.

In his world, children who couldn't survive on their own simply didn't. He glanced at the lake. Then behind him to the house. After a moment of consideration he set her back down on the ground and crouched to be at her eye level.

 _Come to me weakling._ He signed to her, eyes slightly narrowed. She tilted her head and he sighed again.

Then she grinned and took his hand and started tugging on his arm until he followed her, stooped over by the significant height difference. What a strange sensation, he can't say he'd ever really been in this position before.

"Momma, momma my friend made stupid Darren stop teasing me!" Ashland yelled, hauling Hiei behind her.

How had her grip strength increased so much? He made a face as he tried to his pull his hand back but she wouldn't let him go.

"His name is Hiei, Ashland. Be polite." Bethany smiled at her child. "Are you ready to eat?"

"I want to eat with Uncle Hiei!" Ashland demanded.

Hiei paled at the mere thought of it. And yet, ten minutes later the child was poised on his lap and they were sharing a plate her mother had made for the two of them. Ashland shoved food into his mouth even when he was still chewing but he found that no matter what face he made she didn't relent. Eventually he just chose to endure. If he did anything aggressive Victoria would lose her mind.

Plus, it wasn't the worst thing.

The creature was, in a way, appealing. Small. Harmless. Yet full of personality. And unlike all the others at this gathering of idiots, she smiled at him. It shouldn't have mattered but it did. Plus, with he around he got twice as much dessert.

"Hey, watch out mister or you'll find yourself as our new babysitter." A man with light brown hair laughed, clapping a hand on Hiei's shoulder. "Ashland doesn't take to people that easily you know."

Hiei stared back at him dully, shrugged the hand off, and then cautiously accepted the carrot stick the child pointed at his face.

Victoria had to hide in the bathroom so Hiei couldn't see her doubled over with laughter at the ridiculousness of it all.

* * *

"I'll admit that when you said _vine_ this isn't what I imagined." Kurama stared at the small rectangular screen. He really needed more time to investigate these smart phones. They seemed useful.

"It's funny, right?" The teenager, Chad as he called himself, declared. "Yeah, there are a million of these on YouTube."

"YouTube?" Kurama asked, accepted the phone as it was handed to him. He tentatively tapped on another image next to the title _Best of Vine Compilation_.

"Yeah, you know, for videos." Chad stared at him. "Have you never used YouTube before? Do they not have that in…uh…"

"Japan." Kurama supplied and then frowned. "I suppose I just haven't gone out of my way to be exposed to it."

It was a flimsy lie but the boy seemed to accept it after a second, shrugging.

"Yeah, well, everything is on YouTube. Funny videos, tutorials, vlogs, you know, everything."

"Vlog?" The redhead blinked.

"Yeah, like, a video diary or something."

"Interesting. How useful." Kurama muttered in awe. So much information was so readily available in this world. If he had the capacity to research subjects this thoroughly during his tenure as a Spirit Detective with Yusuke he'd have been able to save them all time and grief on several occasions. He smirked.

Kaito was going to be _livid_ that he had gotten the chance to use such a system. They kept in touch over the years, loosely, as Kurama enjoyed discussing all manner of subjects with the other man.

The phone buzzed and Kurama nearly dropped it, fearing he'd done something to break the device.

"Hey, you ever used Snapchat?" Chad asked, taking the phone and explaining the app after checking his messages. He turned the front facing camera on and showed Kurama how to use the different filters.

Kurama choked when he got to one that placed fox ears atop his head. He asked Chad how to save the photo so he could send it to Victoria. The boy showed him. A few seconds later they heard Victoria laugh from the kitchen.

"You're a self-indulgent dork K-drama!" She called, unseen.

"Do you have these applications?" He asked her, handing the phone back to its rightful owner and rounding the kitchen to smile at her. "They are amusing. I understand why everyone has their noses buried in their devices."

"Yeah, they are pretty entertaining." She agreed and tossed him her phone. "Knock yourself out. Maybe we'll be able to get you a prepaid phone or something so you can have your own."

"Is that a possibility?" His eyes lit up.

Victoria stared at him, unable to deny him when he looked so genuinely excited. "Yeah, Kurama, I can make it happen."

Then the redhead turned to Hiei, staring at the small child poised on his lap. " _Hiei, are you aware there's a child feeding you?"_

Hiei ignored him and set Ashland on the ground. She ran off, back outside and he sighed, sure she was about to find herself in the same trouble. He turned to Kurama with a glare only to receive a smartelic smile.

Victoria leaned against the kitchen counter, a cup of sweet tea in her hand. She watched the two men, then as Big Pop came over and engaged Kurama in another conversation about what the redhead wanted to do with his future. Grams shushed her husband, telling him to stop harassing the young man and to let him enjoy his youth.

This wasn't the disaster Victoria had expected it to be.

They didn't get home until the sun had almost set. As Victoria moored the pontoon to the first cleat, Hiei watched as she did so, she reflected on what a strange success the day had been. When she turned to start the second she stopped.

Hiei was mimicking her movements at a much slower, uneasy pace. After a few minutes he looked over at her, his hands going still.

"You've got it." She offered him a thumbs up and then started to walk away, leaving him to finish the job he started.

Hiei was behind her a moment later, then in front. _Again tomorrow?_

He nodded toward the pontoon and she turned to look at it over her shoulder. _You want to go to Grams again_?

 _No. Boat. Tomorrow._ He shook his head.

"Oh." Victoria blinked then smiled. _Yeah, we can go out again tomorrow._

He left her behind then, after nodding, and made his way after Kurama who had already gone into the house. Hank ran out the back door toward her, excited his people were home again. When the dog's nose bumped Hiei's hand, the dark haired man just offered him a single passing pat without breaking his stride.

Victoria stopped walking, standing on the lawn while assessing her house and thinking about the occupants inside while Hank loped around her. With a chuckle she started moving again, Hank trotting behind her.

What a life she had. Shame it was bound to come to an end.


	9. Chapter 9

**I will be following up on that last cliffhanger next chapter! I didn't forget. I promise. Anyway, here, have another soft chapter. Thanks for enduring my absence guys!**

* * *

Victoria threw herself onto the couch with a grunt, disheveled and dirty, one leg over the arm of the sofa and hanging loosely off the side, her face buried in the cushions.

"It went well I take it?" Kurama set a glass of sweet tea on the coffee table beside her and stood at the other end of the couch, regarding her.

She offered some response that was eaten by the couch cushions.

"I can't understand you." He chided lightly and she lifted her head to cast him a disparaging glare.

"Don't stand there, judging me." She warned him. "I just had to deal with being nagged by a dead housewife from the fifties because I didn't have on enough lipstick for her taste. She asked me no less than four times how my husband felt about the way I dressed."

He pressed his lips together to avoid smiling. "Sounds horrifying, I'm truly sorry."

"I got her to cross over." Victoria pulled herself up and sat like a normally functioning human being before grabbing the glass he'd brought over. Taking a cautious sip she stopped, assessed the tea, then glanced at the redheaded man watching her with keen interest. "You pass."

He sighed in relief.

This was his third attempt to make sweet tea the way she did and the last two had been utterly disastrous. The first had been far too light on the sugar. Hiei had taken a sip, taken the entire pitcher and dumped it in the sink. The second try had been on the other end of the spectrum. Victoria had finished her glass with a smile and just politely asked him to maybe scale back _a touch_. Vanessa had not been so kind. She'd pointedly asked if he was trying to send them into diabetic comas.

Victoria chuckled as he sat next to her, asking questions about her job that night. She answered them all, but when he ran out of things to prod her with, she grew quiet. Before she'd even gotten a chance to enter the house to help the spirit find its way, she'd received a call. One she didn't want to take. Explaining to the guys that she'd be gone a few days wasn't something she wanted to do, and she wasn't sure why. They were grown men, they wouldn't care. But she felt anxious despite that logic.

Maybe that was because Vanessa couldn't watch the house this time.

Grams said she'd come over, and Victoria knew that would be a conversation. Hiei was going to hate it. But Grams insisted. She wanted time alone with the boys anyway.

"You know, tomorrow, I think we should finally get you that cellphone." Victoria announced and Kurama perked up. "I have something I wanted to do with you and Hiei too, but after that we'll go into town and get you a phone."

"Really?" He scanned his attention over her.

"Yeah, there's no reason not to." She shrugged as Hiei walked in from the back porch and marched over to them. He took over the comfy chair cattycorner to the sofa. "God, I'm so tired."

Victoria reached around her back and unhooked her bra through her shirt before sliding one straps down her arm and pulling the whole thing out through the other armhole of her shirt. Tossing it over the back of the couch she relished in the freedom after a long day of seeing old fashioned sexism at play. It surprised her when she saw that Kurama and Hiei were both watching her with rapt interest.

"What?" She asked, brows pulled down. "Y'all've seen me without a bra on before."

Many times. She rarely wore them at home unless she was expecting company and after their second week with her they had ceased to be _company_. They were more like freeloading roommates at this point.

 _How did you do that?_ Hiei signed, looking over her arms then shooting his eyes to the bra.

 _It's second nature_. She signed back, shrugging. Then she informed him that she had a surprise for him and Kurama the next day. _Wear your swimsuit._

Hiei smirked. _Boat ride?_

 _Not quite._ She shook her head and he frowned.

It amused her to no end how much Hiei enjoyed taking the boat out. He'd do it every day if she'd let him. He always sat on the front strip so she doubted he had pieced together how to operate the watercraft, but she hid the keys just in case. Hiei was crafty. She didn't trust his supposed ignorance.

"Alright, I'm going to take a bath then go to bed. Maybe if I get some decent sleep I'll magically be granted a husband to take care of when I wake up." She got up and rolled her eyes. "However will I go on if I don't get married?"

Kurama hid his laugh behind a cough, avoiding eye contact with her.

"See you in the morning boys."

Hiei watched her go, glanced at her bra and then to Kurama.

" _Did she tell you what we're doing tomorrow?"_ He asked, not trusting this apparent surprise.

" _No. But I know we'll be going into town after."_ Kurama offered back. _"She said I'd be getting a phone."_

" _Joy."  
_

Hiei rose from the comfy chair and walked around the couch toward the stairs. Kurama didn't see him snag the bra or shove it into his pocket as he passed.

" _Oh, Hiei, once the load in the washer is done I'm going to start another. Could you put your dirty clothes in the hamper?"_ Kurama asked when Hiei was about halfway up the staircase. He received a sharp nod in response and then then other man disappeared toward their room.

Hiei closed the door behind him, ignored his clothes strung about the room where they fell when he shed them, and threw the bra onto the bed with a glare. He'd now seen Victoria take it off several times and he _still couldn't understand how_. It closed over her arms and back. How the hell was she able to take it off without lifting it over her head? Or without removing her shirt?

He'd walked in on her changing once and had seen her in just the undergarment.

It didn't seem possible.

Now was his chance to understand. Not that he needed to know, really, but he wanted to. He didn't like the idea that Victoria had secret skills he couldn't dissect. So he picked the bra up by a shoulder strap and examined it. Eventually hooking the back two pieces together. He laid it out and stared at it, trying to visualize the movements Victoria had gone through before removing the garment. Frowning, he tried to work through it with the thing sitting on the bed.

* * *

" _Hiei, I need your clothes_." Kurama pushed into their shared bedroom only to stop in his tracks and stare blankly at his friend.

Hiei stared back, a deer caught in headlights. Kurama not sure he'd ever seen the other man look so surprised by anything in his life. Or embarrassed, really, except for that time he'd been scolded by Kuwabara for getting his soul stolen by Kaito. Hiei dropped the arm that had been reaching behind his back and he opened his mouth.

" _I can explain_." Hiei said carefully, school himself into a neutral expression.

Kurama assessed his friend, standing there with Victoria's bra on over his shirt, and took a moment to mentally file this memory away. When they got home they'd eventually meet with Yusuke and Kuwabara for drinks and when they asked what had happened to their two missing friends, Kurama would tell this story in excruciating detail. Hiei's next words would make it into the story, no doubt, and send them all into choking fits of laughter at his expense. Sure, he'd storm off and call them all bastards, but it would be worth it. Just like old times.

So Kurama waited for Hiei's defense.

" _I wanted to know how it worked."_ Hiei explained with a straight face.

Kurama nodded slowly.

" _I figured it out_." The other went on, once again reaching behind him to unhook the back strap before sliding the shoulder straps down one arm and then pulling the bra off over the other. " _See?_ "

" _You've proven you can take it off, but it's not under your shirt. You can't be certain."_

" _Obviously that was my next step before you barged in!"_

" _Don't let me stop you."_

Hiei didn't. He was right, he had mastered the art of removing a bra without taking off his shirt. Kurama had never been more frustrated with Victoria than he was watching Hiei demonstrate this newfound prowess.

If she'd gotten him a phone sooner, he could have recorded this moment.

* * *

The thing about Victoria's truck was that it had no backseat. So whenever they traveled in it, they had to all cram into the cab. Hiei was forced to sit in the middle because he was the _smallest_. Just once he wanted Kurama to have to sit in the center so he could stick his arm out the window and enjoy the feel of wind rushing over his skin. Having both windows down was the smallest possible concession.

Of all the things he hated about this new world, not being in his true body sat at the top of the list. He had no power, no dragon, no Jagan. He could run, and Victoria had assured him he was still fast, but it wasn't the same. He got _tired_. His hands and feet didn't accept all of his commands as easily, so climbing trees had become a chore. Not to mention the damn splinters.

And don't get him started on _fire ants_.

There were a lot of drawbacks to being trapped here. He didn't like being human. He didn't enjoy having _limitations_.

But then there were times when it was okay. Not great. But palatable. When they went for rides on the lake. No one speaking to him because they all assumed he was deaf or mute. The food was good. Better than Makai by and large. He was going to be spoiled for that slop when he went back, actually. Maybe he should go back to eating what he caught himself…

"We're here." Victoria pulled into a dirt parking lot and nodded toward a shabby building resting on a hill overlooking the lakeside.

She slid out of the cab and fished their lifejackets from the bed of the truck, having to climb into the back to get them. He frowned and glanced at Kurama before following the redhead out the door. What did they need flotation devices for if they weren't going to be on the water? She knew he couldn't swim.

Victoria pulled her shirt off and started to apply more sunscreen even though she'd slathered some on before they left the house. Hiei readily followed her cue because he was not eager to endure another burn. Kurama also applied more, allowing Victoria to help him cover his back despite insisting he'd be keeping his shirt on. Then she gestured for them to follow her into the weather-worn building.

Inside, crickets chirped incessantly. Hiei looked around as Victoria greeted the dark-skinned old man behind the counter. Large containers of thick worms, barrels of small darting fish, raw meats. Styrofoam coolers and bags of ice in a loudly buzzing freezer. A large display of cold cokes, cans and glass bottles. Sunglasses. Hiei snatched a pair off the rack and pushed them into his face, examining himself in the mirror before disregarding them and going for a different pair.

Victoria had started to hide hers because he'd dropped a pair or three in the lake on accident.

"Everything all set Earl?" Victoria leaned against the counter with a smile, sunglasses poised atop her head.

"Just sign the line." Earl glanced over at Hiei, ransacking his sunglasses display, and then to Kurama who seemed engrossed in the map of the lake hanging on the wall. "Who are these boys ya got with ya?"

"Just some friends." Victoria assured him.

"Careful with em, Victoria. They look like trouble." He laughed when she full hearted agreed. "I'm not surprised a pretty little thing like you is juggling boys."

"Oh, it's not like that." She winked at the old man. "You know you're the only man for me."

"Damn skippy." He nodded and laughed again, stopping when Hiei marched over and held out a pair of sunglasses to Victoria. She accepted them and Hiei made his demand for her to purchase them with his hands. "He deaf?"

"He's something." She set the glasses on the counter and bought a strap for them so they wouldn't go flying off the man's head. "Alright, Earl. Let's show them their surprise."

He nodded and Victoria gathered the two men and had them follow her out the tackle shop to the pier down on the water. There were two sections of docks, one with old gas pumps lining the edges and the other with some jet skis tethered. She turned to beam at her companions, hands on her hips, life jacket open and revealing her black bikini top.

"Wallah!" She opened her arms wide. "This is the surprise!"

Hiei furrowed his brow, confused, and Kurama didn't seem to get it either.

"We're riding jet skis today!" Victoria brandished a hand toward the machines. When she didn't get a reaction she rolled her eyes. "Oh, just come on. You'll love it. I'll take you each out on mine to show you how they work. Kurama, come on."

The redhead glanced at Hiei, then at Earl, then nodded and tightened the straps on his lifejacket. Tentatively, he straddled the seat behind Victoria following her directions to hold onto her as she started the watercraft and maneuvered it away from the pier and out of the wake-free zone. And then she opened the throttle and Kurama called out, nearly falling off the back.

Hiei was bouncing on his toes on the pier when they came back from their short ride, his eyes hungry.

 _My turn_. He signed and Victoria nodded.

Kurama accepted the second key from Earl and followed Victoria's careful instructions on how to start and work the machine. He left first, tentatively, and waited for them just outside the buoys marking where they had to slow down.

Hiei wrapped his arms around Victoria from behind, not eager to make Kurama's mistake and nearly fall off. Sure, his lifejacket was fitted to him. Victoria had made sure of that when she'd taken him to buy it. But there were some things you never wanted to test.

She eased them away from the pier and his hold tightened in anticipation.

Kurama's hair had whipped behind him when she'd taken off. They had gone so fast. Hiei waited impatiently for the same treatment. He wanted to feel that rush of wind.

"Ready?" Victoria passed the buoys, nodded to Kurama and didn't give Hiei a chance to respond before she took off.

As he adjusted to the speed, he allowed himself to stop anchoring against the woman and to extend first one arm out then his other. It was wonderful. She began to slow down and he protested, loudly.

"Do you want to drive?" She turned and asked him. He stared back blankly, even though she'd used sign and she knew he could understand.

 _You'd let me?_ He tilted his head.

 _Stupid. Of course._ She made a face that plainly spoke of how ridiculous she found him.

Hiei didn't argue or glare at her. He merely nodded slowly and accepted her instructions as Kurama pulled up beside them. The redhead looked as liberated as Hiei felt, but his expression turned cautious when he witnessed Victoria and Hiei carefully switching places.

"Are you sure that's wise?" Kurama squinted at them.

"Yeah, it's fine." She assured him. "He needs this."

Kurama did not look convinced but he didn't argue.

Hiei oriented himself to the controls, practiced a few times, stalled once and then got then under wraps. He eased the throttle back at first, Victoria's arms wrapping around him startling him to the point his hand slipped off the gas. It shouldn't have surprised him. He didn't let it the second time. Once he comfortable he took off.

They were out on the lake for hours, Hiei refusing to give the controls back to Victoria until she finally told him they had to give the jet skis back. The rental period was over. With heavy annoyance, he relinquished the craft to her and allowed her to direct them back to the tackle shop. She filled the crafts with fuel and then tethered them to the right pier, returning the keys to Earl.

Kurama laughed at Hiei's hair, which had been blown in a mass of untamed senseless spikes. Hiei smirked, arms crossed and pointed out the redhead had no room to talk. He looked like he'd been through a tornado.

They made it into town and got Kurama a prepaid cellphone. An expensive one, that Victoria repeatedly warned him not to break. She showed him how to load the card and explained the limitations then left him to figure out the rest. It made her smile behind his back that he was reading through the entire owner's manual. After all of that, they picked up burgers and Victoria drove them to a park where they laid blankets and pillows out in the bed of the truck to avoid the hot metal and lounged. She kept the lifejackets, blankets, and some tools in the locked box that took up a portion of the bed of the truck.

It was nice.

Which only made Hiei's look of betrayal when Grams greeted them at the house all that much harder to bare.

 _What is this?_ He demanded with a glare.

"So. I have a job." Victoria explained to both of them. "I'm going to be out of town for a few days. Grams is going to be checking in on you guys. She'll take Hank with her to her place though, so you won't have to worry about him."

"Checking on us." Kurama repeated. "She's not staying?"

"Not the whole time. I figured you two could probably make it a few days without dying." She smiled at him, not sure why she felt the need to apologize. "And my number is in your phone so you'll be able to call me if you need anything."

"Why didn't you tell us?" He pressed, curious more than upset.

"I don't know."

That made Hiei run his eyes over her, then look to Kurama. _"She's acting strange."_

" _Agreed."_ Kurama smiled back at the woman, then shrugged. "It is what it is. We'll look after the house, Victoria. There's no need for you to worry."

If he knew where she was going, he wouldn't be so certain of that. Victoria hugged Grams, kissed the old woman on the cheek and then grabbed her prepared bag and left.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Hey y'all. This story isn't dead. In fact, thanks to musicnutftw hounding me and all your wonderful reviews, I outlined through chapter 12 loosely. Seriously, thank you all for reading. I didn't expect people to like this story as much as they do and it really warms my heart.**

 **Have a chapter full of Grams and Kurama bonding and my new fave brotp: Hiei and Ashland. By the way, the songs at the end of the chapter are Dancing Queen by Abba and I Wear My Sunglasses at Night by Corey Hart. In that order.**

 **Next chapter we will see what Victoria is up to and why she didn't want to go.**

* * *

Hiei and Kurama stared at Grams for a few seconds after the door clicked closed behind Victoria. Kurama smiled gently while Hiei's eyes slowly began to narrow. Grams smiled back at them.

" _I'm not dealing with this._ " Hiei announced with a huff before marching toward the stairs.

" _Hiei, where are you going?"_ Kurama demanded, shooting him a stern look.

" _To bed. Call me when the old woman leaves. I don't want to be around her."_ Despite his words and the sneer he wanted to wear, Hiei kept his voice and face impassive. With a considering glance he looked over Grams once more then bolted up the stairs.

"That one doesn't care for me much, hmm?" Grams watched him go and then shook her head. "If he wasn't such a rude little shit we would have gotten off on a better foot."

Kurama balked, then turned his attention back to the old woman who sauntered passed him into the kitchen. Did she just call Hiei a…a little shit? He stared after her.

"Be a darling and get me the bottle from the cabinet above the refrigerator please." She gestured toward what she wanted and Kurama followed her polite request with a nod of his head. "Thank you honey. You're a good boy."

She opened the hefty bottle of bourbon and poured two glasses, handing one to him, her blue eyes twinkling.

"I'll admit that I didn't much care for your cartoon." Grams expressed with a laugh. "I thought Victoria was just a little _off_ for caring so much about some fictional boys. She was _obsessed_ with y'all. Had all your little comic books. Had stuffed animals of you she slept with. Posters and all the things obsessed teenage girls get. But I didn't see the appeal."

"Is that so?" Kurama smirked then. "I'll admit, Victoria has been pretty vague with how much she cared about these _fictional_ boys."

"She's shy that way." Grams nodded with a grin. "Anyhow, why don't you sit down and explain it to me. She's tried through the years but she gets so ramped up it's like listening to an auctioneer reading the bible."

"Oh where to start?" Kurama sipped the bourbon and made a face.

"It's the good stuff. She thinks I don't know where she hides it but she's too much my granddaughter not to think like me. I keep mine in the laundry room behind the sewing kit because I know my husband will never find it." Grams laughed. She led him out to the back porch and took one of the rocking chairs. "Why don't you sit and start by telling me about yourself. Do you have a family? Are you married? Did you go to school?"

Kurama pondered where to start for a moment and then guessed it didn't matter much. Grams would eventually get all the information she wanted if she chose to seek it out. After all, his life was mostly on display in this world. All it would take would be a quick Google search or a trip to a bookstore.

"I guess, if we're going to start with me then I should tell you about my mother." Kurama smiled softly, remembering her. Then he frowned. He hoped she wasn't too worried about his disappearance. How much time had passed in his world? He had moved away from home, to a different city for his step-father's company, but he still visited as often as he could. Surely the company would have reported his absence.

He realized then that he very well could have already lost his job. His mother was likely sick with worry and his friends might have assumed the worst.

Oh no.

Hiei.

Mukuro would be _furious_ that he went missing. She would have sent her best men out to find him. And if she assumes he's dead that means that he'll have lost his post with her. Then Hiei will be the furious one.

They had to get back and soon.

An agitated Hiei was enough of a problem to deal with on its own. But a worried mother?

That he could not abide.

"She'll know you're safe." Grams pulled him from his thoughts with a gentle touch to the back of his clenched fist, where it rested on his leg. "Mothers have a way. We can feel it in our hearts when our babies need us and when they are okay."

Kurama relaxed some hearing that. "My mother isn't very healthy, you understand. I'm worried the stress of me not being there will make her ill again."

"Tell me about her."

And he did. Wit flourish and without hesitation, Kurama explained his human life to this wise old woman he barely knew. He enjoyed it, actually, getting to weave the tale of his mother and her love to someone. During his story Grams merely drank her bourbon and nodded, listening. When he got stuck she'd ask him just the right question to keep him talking.

The sun faded, the moon rose and they rocked in their chairs like old friends while the moths hit the porch light and the fish jumped in the lake.

* * *

Hiei glowered behind his sunglasses. Crushing his empty can of beer he tossed it behind him on the boat and pulled another from the dredges of the cooler beside him. The ice was beginning to get watery so he slammed the white lid closed on the large blue Coleman and popped the tab of the new can.

" _Come inside, Hiei_." Kurama ordered with a sigh, standing on the deck with his arms crossed and foot tapping.

Hiei refused to look at him. Kurama was a traitor. He was as good as dead to him. Siding with that awful old woman and chatting it up until the early hours of the morning with her. Like they were friends. He had no time for traitorous foxes so he kept his back to the redhead and swirled his feet in the green water of the lake, his legs hanging over the side of the pontoon.

" _You're being obstinate."_ Kurama declared.

Hiei flipped him off over his shoulder.

" _Fine. Starve._ " The redhead marched away with his hands in the air.

Hiei glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Starve? As if he hadn't had the foresight to steal provisions. He smirked. Kurama was underestimating him. Again. He had a bag full of snacks. Chips. Deli meat. Those little crème filled cookies he liked so much.

Fuck. He'd forgotten milk.

Goddammit.

Anyway, there was a whole lake full of food anyway. Not mention he could still catch those little lizards. Victoria wasn't here to wail about it now. He sipped his beer. He could just say on the boat until she got back. Then he could punch her for leaving them with that woman. Maybe she'd make it up to him by taking him out on the lake?

"Uncle Hiei!"

The screech of his name turned Hiei's head along with the sound of small feet pounding against wood. All he saw was a blur of blonde curls and the yellow of her dress before he was attacked. The weight of the girl nearly toppled him off the side of the boat and into the depths of the lake waiting to consume him. He had to brace himself against the metal railing.

Ashland didn't seem to notice his momentary panic or that she'd nearly killed him. Her arms around his throat tightened and she shook side to side with a laugh as she hugged him from behind.

Again, he wondered how the child could be so frail and so strong at the same time. She was cutting off his oxygen supply. He had to pry her arms off of him to catch his breath then assess her with a cool frown. What the hell was she doing here anyway?

Wait.

Did this mean that little boy had attacked her again? Hiei would _kill_ him. He bared his teeth at the thought. He had told her to come to him if she needed and here she was. That must mean she needed him.

"Look! Momma showed me how to talk to you!" Ashland started to move her hands to sign _Hello Uncle Hiei._ _Let's play!_

Hiei stared at her bright smile, her chest puffed up with obvious pride at this accomplishment. She wanted to play? That was all?

"Why are you on the boat?" She tipped her head and looked around the pontoon. Then she spotted his bag of food, the cooler and his pile of sunscreen. "Did you run away from home Uncle Hiei?"

Hiei shrugged.

"I'll run away too!" She nodded and stomped her foot. "We'll run away together! I ran away from home once but then I got scared and came back. But with you I won't be scared!"

Hiei nodded then, smirking. Of course she wouldn't be. He was far scarier than anything else they could come across. He patted the space next to him and Ashland sat down, taking off her little strappy white sandals to dip her feet in the lake like he did. She had to sit much closer to the edge than he did and Hiei frowned.

 _Can you swim?_ He signed to her and she merely stared.

So much for being able to talk to him, he thought. Then he sighed. He guessed it was fine as long as he was right there. Even if she couldn't swim, he could just keep her from falling into the water. Easy.

Or so he thought.

The third time Ashland leaned forward to stare into the water, Hiei gave up. His heart hammered in his chest, an uncomfortable and unusual sensation he despised. The worry that the girl was going to topple headfirst into the water and drown was too much for him. He pulled his legs from the water and grabbed her too.

"Do you want to go fishing? I know where Tia keeps the poles." Ashland held Hiei's hand as they walked to the seats under the awning on the boat. She didn't even wait for him to respond before bounding from the boat, once again nearly killing the man with panic as she leapt to the pier.

Children were terrible. How did anyone get anything done with them around?

When she didn't return immediately Hiei went looking for her, finding her rooting through the shed. Her eyes lit up when she saw him and immediately she barked orders. Get this. Grab that. We need those chairs. _Uncle Hiei. Uncle Hiei. Uncle Hiei._

Just to get her to shut up he did what she told him. Then she trotted back to the pier with a large black box in both her tiny hands. She set it down and helped him set up the fold out chairs. Then through careful instruction and demonstration, Ashland showed Hiei how to pull the line through the fishing pole.

"Pawpaw showed me how." She explained, chattering on as usual. "Now we gotta get the hook on. Which one do you want to use? I like this one because it has sparkles."

Hiei watched her pick out her lure. Then she kept searching for another one and after a few seconds she cried out and pouted, a drop of blood on her finger from pricking herself. Tears gathered in her eyes and she sniffled.

Oh no. Not that sound. Not again. He couldn't take the shrill screech of her tears. Hiei frantically grabbed her hand and wiped the blood away.

"You gotta kiss it to make it better!" Ashland cried.

Hiei stared at her, incredulous. How the _fuck_ was kissing it going to do anything?

"Un-uncle Hiei! Kiss it!" She demanded and started to cry harder.

Hiei rolled his eyes. He held up his hand to stop her tearful nonsense and then pressed is lips to the barely-present wound. With a dull expression he signed _Happy?_

Ashland stifled her tears and nodded then almost as if nothing happened, once she'd wiped the wet streaks from her face, she went back to showing him now to tie on a lure.

Honestly, children were the worst. He should have just let her suffer. He focused on threading the eye of the lure she'd presented to him, one similar to her own so they could _match_. In his concentration on his fishing line, he pricked himself on the damn hook. Jerking his hand back he grunted with annoyance. Sucking the drop of blood away he figured he'd finished all the first aid he needed so he went back to work.

But small hands grabbed him and attentive eyes scanned his minor injury with the intensity of a trained medic. Ashland placed a small, gentle kiss to his finger and then beamed at him with a million-watt smile.

Hiei stared at her and then felt some heat rising in his face.

"All better!" She announced as she released him, her procedure completed. Hiei watched her joyfully climb into her foldout chair and situate herself, the fishing pole taller than she was held in her small hands.

Following her lead, Hiei took the other seat.

"When I fish with pawpaw, he falls asleep." Ashland told him after several minutes of quiet. "But you're not that old yet, so you probably won't."

Hiei smirked. No. He wouldn't. It had less to with his age and more to do with not trusting the child to keep herself alive surrounded by fishing hooks and the lake. Plus whatever lurked beneath the surface that they were fishing for. Pretty quickly Hiei noticed his arms starting to heat up so he went and grabbed his sunscreen, reapplying. With a frown he realized that Ashland didn't appear to be wearing any.

Children were the worst. Too fragile. But their parents? Hmph. Ridiculous amounts of ineptitude.

He pointedly ignored Ashland's complaints as he slathered her bare arms, neck, neck and feet with the creamy white substance. Then he rubbed it into her cheeks and across her forehead and nose. Satisfied, he put the bottle between them and picked up his pole, a fresh beer in the net cup holder in the arm of his chair.

* * *

"Is it really okay to leave them out there together? Hiei has never had much patience for children." Kurama watched through the screen door as the two figures on the pier sat in their chairs and held their fishing poles.

"She's alright." Grams assured him, making lemonade in the kitchen.

"If you're sure." Kurama frowned. Grams seemed to certain but he _knew_ Hiei. One wrong word or move and that little girl could very well be shoved into the lake.

"I am." Grams nodded. "Now try this. Does it need anything?"

She poured a small glass of lemonade for him to sample. Kurama drank it with a look of concentration. Then he made a puckered face.

"Perhaps just a touch more sugar." He suggested gently, setting the unfinished glass on the counter.

"You're right." She nodded. Then with a grin added. "It's amazing how even just a little bit of sweetness can turn something sour into something palatable."

Kurama sensed, from her tone and smile, that they weren't talking about the lemonade at all. He glanced toward Hiei and Ashland once more.

* * *

Apparently children required more than sunscreen and chips to live on. They needed things like _water_ and to go _potty_. Suggesting they pee in the lake apparently wasn't an option either.

"Now you gotta wash your hands." Ashland scolded Hiei as he sat back down. He picked up his beer with a raised eyebrow and drank it. "That's gross Uncle Hiei! You're going to get germs."

In the end he found himself alone on the pier as the little girl rushed inside to use the bathroom. The sun had started to set anyway and the bugs were becoming a nuisance. They hadn't caught any fish either, a total waste of time. But he continued to wait. When Ashland didn't return he grumbled and told himself that he could finally relax. It was quiet.

Then he tossed all the fishing gear onto the boat and headed for the house.

Grams immediately shoved a glass of lemonade into his hands once he entered the kitchen through the backdoor. Then she ushered him to sit at the counter next to Ashland, who was half-done with a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. The same meal appeared before Hiei and he felt his stomach rumble. With a glare, he dug in.

"You want seconds?" Grams asked him gently while Kurama watched from Ashland's other side.

 _Yes_. Hiei signed. Barely looked up from his plate. He hadn't really eaten since the burgers the day before.

"Yes _please_." Grams held the next serving just out of reach for him until Hiei begrudgingly lost their battle of wills and signed _please_. She offered him twice as much food for his effort.

"You're a good boy, Hiei."

Her words made him scowl.

A good boy? He had killed hundreds. He was a general in the most powerful military force in all of Makai. He was a bandit and a demon.

A good boy.

Fucking ridiculous.

* * *

Hiei still had on his sunglasses, which shifted on his face as he bobbed his head. He spun around in time with Ashland as she danced. He mimicked her every move with expert precision given to him by years of combat training and sparring. Dancing was easy compared with trying to keep up with Mukuro. And even that had become easier over the years.

A five-year-old posed no challenge to him.

Not until she that weird leg thing. What the hell was that? Hiei tried to copy her and frowned. He tapped her head pointedly, raised an eyebrow and signed _Help_. He demonstrated his inability and she laughed and moved his leg for him. After a few tries he got it and nodded and they went back to it.

"Your funny Uncle Hiei!" Ashland giggled.

 _I'll show you funny, you little brat._ Hiei scooped her up and spun around too fast, stumbling in his inebriation.

Kurama lunged for the girl but Grams stopped him with a single touch. She was grinning and Ashland laughed so he pulled back and went back to recording the scene on his phone.

Hiei threw the child over his back, holding onto her ankles over his shoulders. He grinned and moved his shoulders back and forth listening to her squeal. Setting her back down gingerly as the song changed he waited for her to show him how to move to his one.

"I need sunglasses." Ashland demanded hands on her hips. Hiei nodded and retrieved a pair from a kitchen drawer for her. "Perfect! Like this. Slide to the side and move your shoulders."

She demonstrated as she spoke. A slide to the left, a shimmy of her shoulders and then she took Hiei's hands and started moving them as she moved her feet.

"This song is like you Uncle Hiei! Because you always have on sunglasses too!" She declared and Hiei nodded.

Hiei smirked at her and nodded.

"I hope Victoria likes this update. I wonder how she's doing." Kurama sent off the video clips to their missing hostess with a wry smile. "Ashland is a good dancer."

"She's taking classes." Grams nodded. "She's a natural teacher. Hiei has a surprising amount of rhythm in his soul. The boy can move."

"Fighting isn't so different from dancing." Kurama shrugged. "Though I think a different Hiei might refuse to acknowledge that."

Grams just smiled. Perhaps Kurama was right. Maybe in a different time or place, the man before her would have loathed dancing with a small child. He gave off the vibe of a loner, definitely. A hard man. But even the toughest men she met knew that when a little girl handed you a play phone, you pretended to answer it.

"Looks like he just needed to have an excuse to finally relax." Grams voiced with humor. "Living without all that great power of his has forced him to adapt. Sometimes, we lose everything to show us what we'd actually miss."

Kurama eyed her and then turned back to Hiei. It brought an interesting question into his mind.

When they got back, would Hiei be the same demon as before? Would _he_ be the same?

Would either of them even want to give up who they were becoming?

He was so lost in thought he didn't notice the way Grams looked at him, her eyes shimmering with knowledge and a smile that held answers he'd never get to hear. Answers he needed to find out for himself.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: It's me ya girl. the next few weeks are going to be busy but I'm in a much better place mentally so I'm hoping I'll be able to keep up with updates on my stories.**

 **The songs Victoria is listening to towards the end are Ghostbusters (I'm Not Afraid) by Fallout Boy and Missy Elliott and Last Motherfucker (mix cut) by DJ Maddog.**

* * *

Victoria studied the tank top for several minutes with a serious look of consternation. It was a women's shirt, but if she bought it large enough…

She snagged three. Just in case. It was too hard to pass up. A shirt with the words 'Local Cryptid' surrounded by bright flowers on a dark background just _belonged_ in her house. If Hiei and Kurama, who had both _actually_ haunted a house, couldn't pull off that look no one could.

The third shirt was for her. In fact, she just may change into in the truck. Her phone rang again, the third time in forty-five minutes. This time she finally answered it in a clipped tone.

"You were supposed to be here half an hour ago." The voice snapped at her, full of annoyance. "You better have been in an accident. You're holding up the whole production."

"I had to stop by the dollar store for some supplies." Victoria explained, and it was partially true. This had started because she needed to pick up more powdered sage from the dollar store. Then she'd seen the cute outfit in the window of another shop in the strip mall and she'd decided she deserved to treat herself, especially given what she was about to have to put up with.

"How far away are you?"

"Not too far." Another lie. Honestly, she didn't care much for the person on the other end of the line.

"When will you get here?"

"When I arrive." She shouldered the phone against her ear so she could examine a pair of distressed jeans.

"Goddammit Victoria, this is real fucking immature of you." He griped. "Get your ass here before I come hunt you down."

"We both know you couldn't hunt fish in a barrel, Brandon." She took the phone back in her hand. "Gotta go. Be there soon. Twenty-minutes tops."

She hung up.

When she pulled into the driveway of the old house thirty minutes later, Brandon was seething by a large white eco-line vine waiting for her. Victoria hopped out of the cab of her truck wearing her new shirt and a pair of professionally destroyed jeans. Her dirty converse shone red from under the medium wash denim. Offering the man a smartelic grin she shouldered her bag.

"What's up?" Victoria asked cheerily, watching as Brandon's jaw locked.

This had to be a big deal for him to call her, she knew that. They didn't speak much since the breakup two years before. But every now and then he needed her.

She had yet to find a reason to return the favor.

Victoria turned her attention to the camera crew loitering on the lawn. God. She hated this so much. Last time Vanessa had come with her to keep her in line. No such luck this time.

Brandon was the lead "paranormal investigator" on an international ghost-hunting show. He had been all over Europe and North America harassing spirits and stirring up trouble. Most of it was grade-A bullshit. He knew it. Victoria knew it. The production crew knew it. But it still drew in viewers like nobody's business. Once upon a time, back when they were dating, Victoria had acted as a 'specialist' a few times. Digging up info, explaining some things in the background. But she hadn't been too keen on being filmed.

Not during this and not during sex.

People break up for all sorts of reasons.

"We finished setting up the cameras and the sensory equipment." Brandon started in with a glare. "I've never seen anything like this, Vick."

"Please, Vick is for my friends. You can call me Victoria." She corrected with her best smile.

"Did I hear Victoria?" A tall, curvaceous girl appeared from behind one of the crew vans. Victoria stared at her deep purple hair and immediately decided she needed to change up her own hair color. Maybe teal? "Oh my god. I've heard so much about you. I've been dying to meet you!"

"Hopefully not literally." Victoria hesitantly assessed the young woman. "What are you, like, twenty?"

"Nineteen."

"Jesus fuck Brandon, you're fucking a freshman?" Victoria whipped around to gape at the man who had drug her out here. "Even for you this is gross. You're basically thirty you cradle robber."

"We're the same age." Brandon deadpanned.

Victoria ignored him to grab the girl by the arms. "Are you in danger? Blink if he's holding you here against your will. I will kick his ass."

The girl laughed nervously and slowly shook Victoria's hold off her.

"I'm Mekenzi. With two e's and an i." She stuck her hand out and Victoria shook it with a raised eyebrow.

"Where?"

"Huh?" Mekenzi with two e's and an i tilted her head like a piqued puppy.

"Bless your heart, you're about the cutest thing Brandon has ever roped into his bad choices." Victoria patted the girl's arm and turned back to Brandon who looked about ready to throttle her. She decided to avoid engaging with him for a few more minutes until he calmed that vein pulsing in his temple. "So, why did you want to meet me?"

"I read all your notes from the early seasons." Mekenzi bounced on her toes. Being close to six feet and a healthy looking woman, that meant certain parts of her noticeably bounced with her. "You're like a real life witch. I think that's so cool. I haven't met any other Wiccans-"

"I'm not Wiccan." Victoria shook herself and raised her gaze to Mekenzi's brown eyes.

"But you're a witch."

"I practice magick, yeah." Victoria nodded. "Still not Wiccan. I'm more of a free-spirit pagan, if anything."

"You can do that?" Mekenzi looked like her entire world view had shifted abruptly.

"I mean, if you want. But if you're good with Wicca then stick with Wicca. No need to fix what isn't broke, y'know?"

"Are you two done?" Brandon finally interrupted them. "Vick…toria. You need to speak with the family who lives here."

"You want me to interview them?" Victoria stopped and stared at him. This must be serious. Then with a nod she put on her best professional face and marched toward the house. There was no denying it. The minute she crossed the threshold a wash of energy cascaded over her.

And it wasn't happy to see her.

...

"Well, we always knew the place was haunted but it's never been like this. We've lived here ten years. In all that time I've never felt unsafe." The woman glanced at her husband who nodded to her words. "It used to be small things knocked over. The cat staring. You know, small things."

"And that's recently changed. How?" Victoria had her phone on the counter between her and the couple, recording the conversation so she could listen back to it later.

"The lights started to flicker a few weeks ago. That was new. We called an electrician. He said there was nothing wrong." The husband explained. "That's about when the cat started acting weird. And when doors started to open randomly."

A few weeks ago? Victoria frowned, but nodded to keep him talking. Brandon would have a more comprehensive timeline for her to study but she already had her suspicions of when this started. And she may even already know what set off the change.

"Where is the cat?" Victoria pried.

"In the car. He won't come into the house anymore. Hasn't for days." The wife looked ready to faint. "This is going to sound crazy-"

"I specialize in sounding crazy." Victoria assured her with a wan smile. "Nothing is too small to help. Nothing is too outlandish."

"I heard a voice." The wife looked at her husband who pressed his lips into a grim line. "It said it wanted to hurt me."

"It said she would like nice in pieces." The husband interjected. "That's when I called your team."

"Did you hear it?" Victoria turned to him.

He balked. "I believe my wife."

"That's not what I asked."

He stared at her. Then he swallowed.

"Yeah, I've heard it." He nodded. "When I'm in the kitchen it'll say things. It'll try to convince me to do things."

Now that was interesting.

"Have either of you seen the apparition?" Victoria looked between them. They both shook their heads. "Alright. Y'all are set up in a hotel right?"

She ushered them off then stared at her phone on the counter for a few seconds, lost in thought. Her gaze grew unfocused as she stared, her mind buzzing without thought.

"Pretty girl."

Victoria jumped and spun around, wild-eyed as she rubbed at the raised hairs on the back of her neck. Brandon stared at her with one of the camera men, who had his rig pointed at the floor.

"What did you just say?" She demanded of Brandon, jerking her phone from the counter and turning off the voice recorder.

"I said pretty weird." Brandon told her. "I've never heard of a jump in activity like this, have you?"

"Maybe." Victoria blinked and settled herself. "You have the background on the property, right?"

"Yeah, but nothing in it involves a dude cutting up women." Even as he spoke Mekenzi rushed forward to offer the thick manila folder to Victoria.

"I'll study this tonight at the hotel." She assured him. "You have cameras in every room?"

"Yeah. As well as remote-read thermometers, EMF detectors, motion sensor lights." He nodded. "Why?"

"The husband said he heard the voice in the kitchen. I got the impression it happened more than once." Victoria looked around the space. "Can we set up an additional camera in here?"

Brandon nodded, watching her closely. "Sure."

* * *

Victoria sat in her motel room on the bed, the curtains closed, and listened to her conversation with the couple who owned the house. Her eyes closed, she focused only on their voices.

"Pretty girl."

Her eyes clenched closed. It was there. It was a little muddled because it happened right when Brandon had spoken, but it was there.

This was a problem.

Whatever was in that house was getting stronger. Strong enough to open closed doors and gain a voice. Pulling the headphones from her ears she turned back to the paperwork she'd spread over the dingy comforter. Brandon was right, there was nothing in the history of the house to indicate the presence of a sadistic male personality.

Which meant one of two things to her. Either whatever happened in that house had gone undiscovered or undisclosed, _or_ they weren't dealing with a ghost.

Glancing at her phone, she checked the time. With a sigh she realized it was too late in the night to check on the boys. She hoped they were okay with being looked after by grams. Hopefully they didn't get into too much trouble. It was just a few days, she reminded herself. And they were capable men. Even if Hiei did eat lizards and tide pods and even if Kurama was the worst at making sweet tea.

Piling the papers back into the folder, she moved the file to the small table by the closed window. Then she hoisted her bag onto the bed and pulled out her tools. If they were dealing with something malicious she wanted to be prepared. So she pulled out her travel jewelry box. In it sat her protective necklace: amethyst, obsidian, and fire agate set in silver. She slipped the necklace on then pushed the rose-quartz, moonstone, citrine rings onto her fingers, each of them set in silver as well.

She'd proud more citrine, good for transforming negative energy, to place in the house once that time came. She loved the stone. It never needed to be cleansed and that meant it was perfect for jobs like this one.

Moving on, Victoria pulled out her travel packs of herbs and set about making cleansing salt, a spray, and a few pomanders. She had a feeling taking chances with this house would only get her in trouble so she came ready for anything.

* * *

"A few lights turned on. The temperature dropped but nothing major. I didn't even see any doors opening. And the kitchen was empty all night." Mark, one of the cameramen who had been with the show since the beginning, explained to Victoria. "What's your take, Vick?"

"Oh, he gets to call you Vick?" Brandon huffed.

"I like him." Victoria retorted absently. "Okay. Seems weird that whatever this would ramp up only to die out."

"What are you thinking?" Mark tilted back in his chair to look at her. Then he smiled and she thought, distinctly, that his five o-clock shadow suited him.

"I'm thinking we send in Brandon to do what he does best." Victoria smiled back, then turned to the host of the show who frowned at her. "Stir up some activity."

* * *

"Are you _sure_ you don't want one of these?" Victoria gestured to the small pomanders beside her on the table. She had set up a circle around herself and sat safely inside it. Mekenzi sat at the table too, watching on the screens for any sign of activity. She wore one of Victoria's protection pomanders around her neck. They'd decided midnight would be the perfect time to try to agitate the malevolent presence in the house.

"She's the expert, Bray. You might want to wear one." Mekenzi didn't even look at Brandon.

"Yeah, _Bray_ , I'm the expert." Victoria though it appropriate that Brandon's nickname was the same sound a jackass makes.

"No. I'm the expert. You're the hired help. So stuff it up your-"

"We're rolling." Mark interrupted, camera alive on his shoulder.

Victoria stifled a laugh and the camera swiveled toward her. " _Bray_ is going to attempt to lure the spirit into some form of activity by speaking to it. While he does that Mekenzi will be watching over the live feeds."

"And what are you going to be doing?" Brandon asked her.

"I'll be waiting to intervene in case something actually happens." Victoria shrugged. "You're the face, I'm the muscle. That's the deal."

Brandon rolled his eyes and started walking through the house asking questions in every room and waiting for a reaction. After a few hours of pacing and waiting Victoria reclaimed her chair. It was nearly two in the morning. Mekenzi was glued to her computer screens so Victoria pulled out her phone and pushed her headphones into her ears. With a smile she saw that she had a series of snaps from Kurama and she opened them to watch Hiei dance with Ashland. Chuckling she shot him back a text thanking him for the video and wishing them well.

He asked her how the job was going.

Victoria tapped back that it was somewhat interesting but nothing too exciting yet, not noticing that Mekenzi had gotten up from the screens. If she had, she'd have at least taken out one of her earbuds to keep and ear on the situation. But she didn't.

Instead she turned on her playlist and sipped from her RedBull blissfully unaware that Mekenzi was screaming in terror in the downstairs bathroom as the lights flickered off and on or that the EMF sensors were flipping out. She didn't even noticed when the taller woman came barreling back into the dining room, panting, and assessing the chaos on the screens.

It wasn't until her RedBull got whipped out of her hand that Victoria even bothered to look up from her phone. When she did, it was with consternation.

Then she noticed.

The chairs outside of her circle had been thrown across the room. The lights in every other room were doing their best to audition for strobe light of the year. Mekenzi was standing in the circle with her hand over her mouth and Mark came running back to them, swiping a protective necklace pomander from the table and clutching it in his white knuckled fist. Brandon came down the stairs but right before he made it to the circle Victoria had cast, he got bulldozered by an invisible form that sent him shoulder first into the wall.

Only then did Victoria pull out one of her headphones.

"Shouldn't you help him?" Mekenzi asked her, shaking.

"Nah, he's the expert." Victoria pointed her phone at the scene to catch Brandon being drug across the floor by his ankle. "You're doing amazing, sweetie."

"Shut up!" Brandon yelled. He struggled to get his feet under him. "Get your sage and smudge this bastard Vick!"

"Natives smudge, Brandon, white people cleanse." Victoria fished a second RedBull from her bag and popped the tab. "You musty bag of marshmallows."

"Victoria!" He pulled salt from his pocket and cast it around him loosely. The aggressive presence dissolved. "Huh. See? We didn't even need you. I can send this poor soul back without-"

A knife came flying out of the kitchen and only missed Brandon because Victoria shoved him out of the way.

"I can do a lot of things, but I cannot exorcise stupid." She scolded him and then pointed to her circle. "Get in there and think about how much better I am at your job than you are."

Brandon didn't need to be told twice. He crossed the threshold of the circle and Victoria sipped her RedBull while standing in the middle of the room. One earbud still in place, she listened to her music at a volume sure to give her tinnitus someday. And she waited.

Nothing moved. Not her, not the crew, and not the spirit.

"Did you really get rid of it?" Mekenzi asked quietly to Brandon, who shrugged.

"No, he didn't. Because you can't banish a demon with a handful of table salt." Victoria chugged her energy drink and crushed the can in her fist before tossing it at Brandon's feet.

"Did you just say demon?" Brandon paled.

"Pretty girl." Unseen fingers twined through Victoria's purple hair, pushing the long top strands back from her face. A ghost of a breath tickled her face. "You'd look prettier at my mercy."

"Worse creatures than you have tried." She stated back easily. "Show yourself."

"It's better this way." That touch slid behind her ear and then down the side of her neck. Victoria shivered and spun around, eyes searching for the apparition. "You don't smell of fear yet."

"I won't." She assured the voice. "It would take a lot more than you to scare me."

Maybe she'd hit the energy drinks too hard. A headache started to form in the center of her forehead.

"Breaking the stubborn ones if the most delicious. You'll scream. They all do."

"Vick." Brandon's previous annoyance had faded into concern. "Cast him out."

"I will." She pivoted again, eyes scouring the room. "Let me concentrate."

"Oh my god." Mekenzi's eyes went wide, the blood draining from her face as a shadow came into form behind Victoria.

It stood two heads taller than her with the unmistakable shape of thick horns gracing the top of its head. Large hands that tapered into clawed fingers rose and brushed over Victoria's cheeks. The hands were so large the fingers overlapped along the back of her head, the thumbs coming to rest along the sides of her nose. The body seemed made of smoke, but the sensation was corporeal. And the eyes.

Those pits of darker-than-the-void black were nothing less than present. They locked against Victoria's blue eyed stare and her mouth fell open.

"That's it, scream." It encouraged her. "Let me hear your voice."

The headache flared up worse than before, a searing pain that made it impossible to feel much more than a strong desire for aspirin.

"What did you do to the spirit of the house?" Victoria asked with a wince at the blooming pain in her head.

The demon stilled. The crew balked. She was pretty sure she heard Brandon utter _what the fuck_.

"Did you devour it? Or push it out?" Victoria blinked, the headache moving down behind her eyes. The demon's face took on more features. She wished it hadn't.

No nose. Not an evolutionary trait but because it was missing. She could tell because she could see the bone and cavities were the nose was meant to be. And the lips did nothing to hide the sharp, glinting pink-stained teeth. Was the skin covered in feathers? Black like an oil slick, swirling with a dark rainbow that may have been beautiful on a bird but was hideous on a creature that wanted to kill her.

Well. It should have been hideous.

But it was still sort of beautiful, in its own way.

"It is too weak to fight. I have no interest in weak things." The demon answered finally. "Now scream."

"You're weak."

The room grew cold, quiet.

"You are strong for a human but weak for your kind."

Colder still.

"That's why you tried to appeal to him. You don't have the power to possess. Their wills are too strong. You're forced to act on your own or convince someone else to do it for you." Victoria stared into the voids that tried to scare her. "You're getting stronger. You got overly confident."

"SCREAM."

"You forgot that if you're getting stronger, she would too."

The lights burned bright in their bulbs, buzzing loudly. The demon roared and Victoria's headache grew more intense. Those large hands came down to wrap around her throat and she smiled. Her hand fished into her pocket even as she choked, being lifted off the ground by her throat.

"You scream." Victoria demanded and punched the demon across the face with her knuckled wrapped in her custom-made brass knuckles. Crafted from iron and inlaid with hematite, smoky quartz, and obsidian, the combined affect made the demon drop her. Victoria landed an upper cut on it. "Salts!"

Mekenzi threw the mason jar of cleansing salt to her. Victoria caught it one handed, unscrewed the lid and ran a quick circle around the entity trapped in the dining room.

"What is this? You think salt will be enough to hold me?" It demanded moving to stalk forward.

"This salt will." She promised and walked away to get her spray bottle from her bag. "It's a special blend I cooked up just for you. Just like this."

She turned with the squirt bottle and marched over. Then she stared the demon in the eye and began to spray.

That headache only continued to grow, lighting her skull on fire and traveling down her shoulders as the lights grew even brighter.

"I cast you out. This is not your home. You are not invited." Victoria focused on only the demon and the rest of the world began to fall away.

"I won't leave until I get blood." The demon hissed.

Victoria paused then she offered her hand to the demon. "Deal. I will get you blood then you be cast out."

"Don't make deals with demons!" Brandon yelled. "That's like, occult 101 Vick!"

The demon shook her hand. Victoria used the jagged edge of one of the stones on her knuckles to cut her thumb, watched as a drop of blood well to the surface then allowed it fall onto the demon's hand. She stuck the finger in her mouth after.

"Wait, no! That's not what-"

"Begone, thot." Victoria sprayed the water right in its face and the apparition roared as it disappeared. The lights all shattered as a wind over took the room and then it grew quiet again. Nothing remained in her salt circle.

The headache disappeared with such a vehement force that Victoria staggered.

"Hey Vick, you okay?" Brandon walked over to her, grabbing her shoulder. "Vick? You're bleeding."

"I know. I cut myself." Why did it sound like they were talking underwater. She could smell the sea. The lights from the other rooms seem to grow dimmer.

"No, your nose. You've got a nosebleed."

She reached up and touched the blood running like a faucet down the front of her face. "Huh. That's weird."

Then her eyes rolled up into her head and everything went black.

* * *

...

"Are you sure you're okay to drive?" Mekenzi watched with some worry on her face as Victoria threw her bags into her truck. "After last night, you might still need rest."

"It's fine." She hoped. They'd left Brandon to tie up ends with the family. She made sure he told the couple that their actual, friendly house spirit was still around. It was a quiet old woman. A soft presence. Nothing to worry about. And Brandon'd already paid Victoria her hefty fee so she had no reason to stick around. It was a long drive home and she wanted to try to get there by that night.

"You were amazing."

"Thanks. Don't ever do what I did."

Victoria raced down the backroads towards her house, less than an hour away. All she wanted was to get home. And of course the forces of the universe would conspire against her. She came up to a crossroads and watched as a figure manifested in the center.

"Oh, fuck you." She floored it. The image disappeared just before the front of her truck impacted it.

"That wasn't very nice, Victoria."

Her brakes smoked and her backend fishtailed a bit as she slammed on the brakes, knuckles white where she gripped the steering wheel like a lifeline. She wasn't going to look at him.

"Dorian."

"You played a dangerous game in your little haunted house." He reached over and traced the same line over her skin that the demon had the night before. "You could have died."

"You were watching." She tensed further.

"You felt me, didn't you? Giving you more power to do what needed to be done." His fingers crept upwards, until they brushed her forehead. "You're getting stronger. But even then, making deals with demons is a problem."

"Don't touch me." She shirked away from his hand.

"I told you. I need you alive." He warned her. "Don't make me make myself known next time. You won't enjoy the consequences."

Then he was gone. Victoria caught her breath, touched her forehead and then screamed her anger, beating at the steering wheel with all her strength.


	12. Chapter 12

_**A/N: Surprise! I**_ _ **'m not dead! Neither is this story! I know, I know, it's been forever. I wanted to finish up my main fic, SG, which has finally reached it's conclusion, before I started focusing on these other stories more. I'm hoping to get more consistent with updates again but we'll see. I'm hesitant to make promises. Work has been hectic, as usual, and we are having an issue retaining staff. Not to mention adjusting to my new meds, the new hours, not having a car at the moment because I'm an idiot and pulled my bumper off during the last major snow a few weeks ago. It's been wild, y'all.**_

 _ **Still, enjoy this short chapter. I**_ _ **'m following up with another, longer chapter, immediately. It's already written. They'll be posted at the same time. This one introduces a new character and some new elements to the mystery of this story! I sincerely hope you enjoy! I'm very excited to finally get Alice out in the open, as I've been dying to write her for a long time.**_

 _ **Thank you all for your patience and your love.**_

* * *

 _Thank you all for waiting so patiently for this update! I_ _'ve gotten all your messages. Sorry I haven't been able to respond, you know how it is. You're comments and messages really helped me out though. And I'm not just saying that. I finally feel well enough to post this chapter, so I hope you really like. Without further ado, here's the next installment of Alice in Wonderland!_

"Alice!"

Alice grinned as she pressed 'post new chapter' and waited for the confirmation before flipping her laptop closed. Sure, self-insert fanfictions weren't exactly the most popular genre, but it's what she liked to write. It made her feel better to roleplay that her favorite characters were taking care of her. Hopping out of bed as her mother called up to her a second time, she shouted back that she'd be down soon. She just needed to get ready.

Truth be told, she missed how easy it used to be to get ready in the morning. Now there were all these extra steps she'd never even dreamed of taking before. She picked out her favorite dress, satin blue with a black sash around the middle, and the black patent leather mary janes her mom had bought her to match. She liked this dress best not just because it reminded her of her favorite storybook character, her namesake, but because it made her feel pretty. Sitting down at her vanity, handed down from her mom, she chose her makeup for the day.

A dark blond for the eyebrows she painted onto her face. A soft pink for her pale cheeks. Just a little bronzer to add color. She glued false lashes into place before scrubbing her chapped lips free of dry skin. Glossing her mouth pink, she smiled at herself. Today was a day to take care of herself. It was a special day. She wanted to feel special about it. Now for the last piece.

Alice carefully pulled her meticulously styled blonde wig off the head form she kept on the vanity. The curls were long and loose, just like her own had been. With expert precision she pulled the wig on, adjusting it until it was perfectly in place. Just like her old hair. The scar on her skull was hidden by the hair, and to eyes not familiar with her, she probably seemed like a normal fourteen year old girl, not someone about to go to the hospital for their chemotherapy treatment. Rising from her chair she patted the head of her stuffed Youko Kurama toy. He had always been her favorite.

Turning away from her door she glanced over her room, taking in her collection. She's stumbled across Yu Yu Hakusho randomly on tumblr and fallen in love with the show. She and Yusuke were the same age! And she was dying too. The way the team worked together and leaned on each other made her feel better when things were at their worst. She really loved this show. And her timing was ripe. With the twenty-fifth anniversary there was all sorts of new merchandise coming out. She'd managed to snag several plushies, a few notebooks and bath towels, wall hangings and a calendar.

"Alice! We have to go!" Her mother called once more.

"Coming!" She called back, finally leaving her room and swinging the door closed behind her.

* * *

Alice, more than anything, hated her checkups. They never offered her anything new.

She was dying.

Brain tumor. Inoperable. Blah blah blah. She knew all of this already. She wanted to check her phone to see if anyone had left any comments on her story yet. She had several die hard followers who supported her. What would they think of the twist she put into this chapter? She was dying to find out.

"Alice, this is important."

The doctor had the same look on her face that she always did. Trying not to show how pitiful she thought Alice was because of this thing no one could control. Alice sighed and looked to her mom. Her mom hated these appointments too. They proved that everything wasn't, in fact, going to be alright. Alice hated seeing her mom like this. She looked so sad and lost. But whenever Alice looked at her, she smiled and put on a tough face.

Just like Shiori when she saved Kurama from falling onto the broken glass.

"What do you want to do?" The doctor asked, swiveling her eyes between the teenager and her mother.

Alice's mom looked at her daughter. "Alice?"

Alice was tired of being sick all the time. She was tired of being skinny and bald and not being able to go to school or keep her food down. She'd never even gotten the chance to shave her legs. Not once. How cruel was that? No period either. Other girls her age were growing up and she was going to die looking like a hairless doll. She didn't want to do it anymore.

"We should keep trying. Maybe the new treatment will help." Alice decided less for herself than for her mom.

One day, she'd be all alone. It wasn't so bad putting that off for as long as possible.

"Are you sure? It can be very intense from the preliminary findings. It's still in it's early stages of the trials." The doctor always made double sure Alice knew what she wanted.

Alice looked over to her mom and then back to the doctor with conviction.

"Let's do this."

* * *

Her wig on the head form, her favorite dress in her closet, her makeup wiped from her skin, Alice curled around the toilet with her cheek pressed to the porcelain. It was cold, which helped. She'd balanced her laptop on the rim of the tub. For the millionth time she watched the Maze Castle Arc. Hiei was her least favorite but he was pretty cool in this part. And she really liked how Kurama kept his wits about him at all times. What a gentleman.

She heaved and wretched into the toilet during one of her favorite scenes.

* * *

Alice spent a lot of time online. It was the only place she could feel near people when she was sick like this. Her friends online had sung her praises for her new update but she was too tire to respond. They would understand. Her eyes drifted closed and she dreamed again.

Her dreams had been different lately. Vivid. Bizarre. She dreamed she was walking between two curtains and could see through both. On one side was her room, on the other a vast desert spotted with strange trees. She'd dreamt this place before, several months ago except instead of her room it had been a dingy looking house. In the dream she met a man in high tops and a flannel shirt. He had shown her how to draw a picture on the floor of the house and told her to think her hardest and what she wanted to bring into the world the most.

Naturally, she wished to meet her favorite character of all time.

The floorboards had creaked and there had been a crack of thunder. Then a burst of light and suddenly, there he was standing next to his much shorter companion. Dark red hair, shining eyes and the stance of a man practiced at taking out threats. Her heart had thudded in her chest so hard she'd woken up. Just before breaching consciousness she'd heard the man in the high tops laugh with delight. He called her a good girl. She'd loved that dream, but it had ended far too suddenly for her.

Now she stood between those curtains again. In the dream she had her hair back and she wore her favorite dress. Her eyes fell on the man in high tops who seemed to be waiting for her. He was between the curtains too. With a smile that glinted like a knife, he welcoming her.

"Alice, are you ready to see Wonderland?"


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: A twofer this time because the last chapter was so short. I hope you guys all enjoy and I** **'m sorry for the long delays between updates. Between the new job and life and shit, time is a luxury. Enjoy!**

* * *

Victoria wasn't sure what to make of all the extra company that had been coming 'round lately. It was too hot to fuss though. Sweat rolled down her neck and she pressed the cold glass holding her sweet tea to her throat.

"Tell me again why you're here, auntie?" She drawled loudly, having to raise her voice to compete with the _WRRRRRTCHT_ of the lawn mower as it pushed across the expanse of her backyard.

"To see my favorite niece of course." Her auntie Susan wasn't even looking at her.

Favorite niece my ass, Victoria thought to herself. Vanessa giggled beside her, fanning herself with a humidity crumbled magazine. Her long hair had been pulled back into a messy bun.

"You have to admit, it's a nice view." Vanessa teased, whacking Victoria's knee with the back of her hand.

"You missed a spot!" Victoria shouted instead of addressing her best friend. The motor of the push mower stopped.

Hiei wiped his brow and shot her a mean look. Her auntie made a peculiarly feminine noise. Kurama looked over at the women as well, clearly annoyed.

"You could help us." He shot at Victoria, unlike Hiei he wore a sun hat. But still, he had to use his forearm to dry his forehead. While Hiei mowed, Kurama pulled weeds from the garden bed.

"You could pay rent." She retorted with a cocked brow. Then she pointed at Hiei with the hand that clutched her tea glass. "And you could stop breaking all my shit when you're bored."

 _Stop buying breakable things_. He signed to her before calling her an unsavory name with his hands.

"Let the boys take a break. They've been working oh so hard in this hot sun." Her auntie batted her lashes and Kurama and Hiei. "Look at the poor boys, Vicki, drenched to the bone with sweat."

Victoria was looking. So was Vanessa. Hiei grumbled something to Kurama before pulling his tank top off and using it to mop his face. His skin had grown noticeably tanner since arriving in their world, Victoria noted. All his time in the sun was really showing. Kurama had darkened some too, which surprised her because he was actually quite diligent about sunscreen. He was stripped down to his shorts and a tee shirt, modest compared to Hiei who now only wore the beaten pair of tennis shoes Victoria had forced him to wear and his airy basketball shorts that sat low on his hips.

It startled Victoria to find her auntie already on the lawn carrying a tray of Arnold Palmers to the two men. Since when had that woman gotten so fast? She hadn't seen her auntie move that fast since that one time her cousin had sat on a fire ant hill.

Actually, thinking about it, she was definitely faster at delivering drinks to the boys.

"Well, if this is all about money maybe I can help." Auntie Susan didn't seem to be in control of her eyes as they drug down Hiei's form while he chugged the ice cold drink before putting the glass back on the tray. "I got the house in the divorce and the lawn is just so hard for me to keep up with all alone."

She touched Hiei's arm with a smile and he dropped his gaze to her hand with a cocked brow.

"Maybe you could come over and do some work for me? I'd pay you, of course. Better than working for free." Auntie Susan flashed him a smile that wanted to be flirtatious.

Vanessa had to get up and go into the house so no one would hear her laugh. Victoria glared at her back and called her a coward for fleeing the scene and leaving her to deal with this.

Kurama sidled over to Hiei and translated Auntie Susan's offer in murmured Japanese. Hiei listened then glanced at the woman, visibly assessing her head to toe with heavy scrutiny. He spoke back to Kurama and the redhead relayed his question.

"He wants to know what sort of work and how much pay you had in mind."

"Oh, generous pay. What's the going rate for lawn care service these days?" Auntie Susan turned to Victoria as if expecting an answer.

"Don't ask me. My lawn guys are volunteers." Victoria responded, finishing her tea before rising to her feet. Kurama rolled is eyes. "Just Google it auntie. Or ask Pawpaw, doesn't he use a service?"

"He'll just try to get me to use his. You know how he is." Auntie Susan waved off the idea. She pitched Hiei a number and he weighed it for a moment before nodding.

"Excellent. I'll pick you up and drop you off, so don't you worry about having to drive." She ran her hand that Hiei's arm and gave his bicep a gentle squeeze before sighed. "You know, I have a lot of friends who need help too. Maybe we can get you a little bit of a side business going, hmm?"

Victoria called across the lawn, "Auntie, come finish your tea. You need to slack that insane thirst of yours."

Auntie Susan nodded and walked away, seeming hesitant to leave Hiei's side. He raised both his eyebrows and turned to Kurama with a mildly annoyed look. " _These woman are too handsy._ _"_

" _She's attracted to you."_

" _Why?"_

Kurama sighed and looked over Hiei then shook his head. He walked away and pulled off the thick gloves he'd been wearing to protect his hands. _"I'm going inside."_

He walked away and left Hiei outside with a scowl on his face. Victoria offered him a smile and signed _Don_ _'t frown sweetheart, you'll get wrinkles_.

A single finger salute answered her before Hiei tucked his tank top into the waistband of his shorts. With more aggression than necessary, he yanked on the pull chord for the lawn mower to bring it back to life. Victoria popped her back and shook her empty glass, listening to the ice clink as it quickly melted in the formidable heat.

"I'm getting a refill. You want to come inside and out of the heat?" She asked her auntie.

"No, I'm alright. I don't mind the heat." Auntie Susan swallowed, eyes tracking the movements of the man in the yard.

Victoria dumped the ice down the back of the woman's shirt. Auntie Susan yelped then hollered, swearing at her niece. She fanned out the back of her shirt to try to get the ice cubes away from her skin. Victoria laughed, grinning at her.

"I didn't want you dying of heat stroke." Victoria teased. "You look ready to melt."

"Girl, you just remember you're never going to get too old for me to wear your ass out." Auntie Susan pointed a finger at her face.

Victoria went inside, having a good chuckle, and sighed in relief at the feel of the central air on her skin. It was a horrifically hot day and it wasn't even noon. She made her way to the counter where Kurama had set out the pitcher of tea for easy access. Vanessa sat at the counter, her summer yellow sun dress complimenting her pretty tan skin. She was eating a chilled lemon bar. Grams had brought a tray full of the treats over the day before when she'd come to check on her granddaughter.

"You sure you should be leaving those two alone? Susan looked ready to jump Hiei's bones right there on the lawn." Vanessa sipped her tea with an unsuppressable smile. "I haven't a woman her age that overtly horny since the aunties went to see Fifty Shades."

"Don't remind me." Victoria moved to the fridge to steal herself a lemon bar. "If she gets too frisky I'll just spray her with the hose."

"How strange that women here don't hide their attractions. Back home such things are handled a little differently." Kurama leaned on the counter across from the two women. "At least it means that there is little guess work involved to their motives."

"Who has time to play games in this economy?" Vanessa lamented. "Though, Hiei doesn't exactly seem to understand what's going on. Should you really be pimping him out?"

Kurama choked on his Arnold Palmer.

"It's only pimping if he puts out." Victoria retorted. "If Hiei wants to work for some money, that's up to him. If the aunties get weird and make him uncomfortable I'll put an end to it. But it will be nice if he has his own money to spend. Keeping him supplied with sunglasses and food isn't cheap and business has been slow lately."

"Get a real job." Vanessa suggested.

"Maybe I should marry for money." Victoria stared up at the ceiling.

"Are we putting you into a compromised financial situation Victoria?" Kurama asked delicately, a frown growing on his face. "I hadn't realized."

"It's fine K-drama, I'll pick up some jobs soon. Lulls like this happen now and then." She shook her head. "Don't worry about it."

Still, he frowned, his mind already at work trying to devise a way to fix the burden they'd unwittingly placed on her. Surely taking them in had put a strain on her, he realized. She'd been living alone when they'd met. Going from one person to feed and clothe and entertain to three overnight wasn't a cheap venture. She had even gone out and bought them new clothes and stocked the cabinets with food for them, given them cellphones and taken them on some adventures. A truly gracious host, he thought, but one that was suffering to keep them comfortable.

That simply wouldn't do.

* * *

 _What are you doing?_

Kurama stared at Hiei blankly for a second, then asked, _"What?"_

Hiei asked again, visibly frustrated that Kurama wouldn't answer such a simple question. It took Kurama pointing out that Hiei was using ASL instead of Japanese for him to understand why.

" _I said, what are you doing?"_ Hiei blushed, embarrassed he had grown so comfortable using sign language that he had slipped into it subconsciously.

" _I'm researching the ways I might be able to earn some money to give to Victoria."_ Kurama explained, sitting on the bed with a hand-me-down laptop in his lap. Victoria had dug it out of storage, apologizing for it's age and faults. It was slow, she had warned him, and the charger was fickle. But still, it was free and now his and he was profoundly thankful.

" _Why? Is she serious about charging us rent?_ _"_

" _No. She didn't ask me to do this. She had just made a comment about being short on funds."_ Kurama explained.

Hiei sat on his side of the bed and thought about that. Well, if Kurama wanted to waste his time making money for someone else that was his business. Victoria was a pain in the ass who always complained about everything. Sure, he had lost several pairs of sunglasses by looking over the side of the pontoon or by not paying attention to how delicate they were and accidentally snapping them in. And yeah, he ate approximately eight times a day. He had already gone through three pairs of flip flops and two pairs of sneakers and a pair of boat shoes. It wasn't his fault the craftsmanship of apparel in this world was so shoddy. He rarely had to replace his old shoes. The soles just fell out of these after a few months of him running.

Well, not the second pair of flip flops. Those had, like his favorite sunglasses, been swallowed by the lake because he'd been careless.

Still, she'd offered to provide those things when she took them in. Why should they be made to feel guilty for the cost? If she wanted help she should just say so not beat around the bush.

He found himself glancing at the laptop screen and thinking back to what auntie had said about paying him generously.

* * *

"Oh my, you look worn out." Auntie Susan leaned against her kitchen counter doing her best to look as svelte as possible. She was even wearing high heels and makeup. Extending a glass of ice water to Hiei she asked, "Thirsty, honey?"

He nodded and accepting the offering, gulping the cold water with vigor. Hiei stood in her kitchen without a shirt on, covered in sweat and surprisingly sore from pushing the mower up the steep incline that made up half of her backyard. Severed blades of grass stuck to his legs, growing slightly itchy. His green-stained shoes looked out of place against the backdrop of spotless tiles that made up the kitchen floor.

Auntie's house was different from Victoria's. It was spacious and empty. The kitchen was large, with pots and pans hanging from an iron rack suspended from the ceiling above the island. Her counters were relatively free of clutter. But then again, her fridge was mostly empty. He did like the automatic ice dispenser though. It meant he wouldn't be nagged for digging in the ice bucket without cleaning his hands. Hiei set the glass on the counter and looked around the space.

"Thank you so much for your help, Hiei. I don't know what I'd do without you." Auntie Susan fluttered her lashes and tilted her hips toward him.

Hiei remembered what Kurama had said about her being attracted to him. He decided to do what the fox did when it suited him to manipulate women.

Hiei smiled and looked her over, tilting his head to the side.

She swallowed, swooning slightly.

Too easy.

But also, it gave him a foundation to work with for his plan.

* * *

Three weeks later Victoria sat on the couch while the client sat in the well-loved easy chair. They looked at the cards spread over the living room table. Then she nodded.

"Yeah, I see what you mean. There is a woman in your life who harbors ill intentions." Victoria explained. "You're right to be a little concerned."

"I knew it." The middle-aged man said, vindicated. "I knew she was up to something! What should I do?"

"Talk to your wife and a lawyer." Victoria suggested and received a dirty look. "You asked for advice hon. That's what I gave. If you suspect your wife is doing something you should take practical steps to resolve the issue. Communication is key in any relationship."

"Why the lawyer?" He demanded.

"You think your wife is trying to ruin you, dude. Why the hell wouldn't you get a lawyer?" She stared at him dully.

"Okay, well, what about in the meantime? Do I just walk around with a target on my back? Isn't there some voodoo protection thing you can do?" He pressed.

"Voodoo is a closed religion bro, I'm not initiated and I'm not about to piss off those deities to save your marriage." Victoria got up and walked over to her oldest wooden shelf. It was given to her mother by grams and now it was hers. There was history buried in the grain of the wood, magic in the hand crafted nature of the shelf itself. Her fingers skimmed along the top of it until they felt like stopping. An empty glass bottle. Ah, that was an idea. "There it is."

"You _can_ do something?"

"I can always do _something_." Victoria responded, rifling through her different boxes for stones and materials. She moved to the kitchen and dug through her spice cabinet. After a few minutes she returned to him, offering the small glass bottle to him. It fit in the palm of his hand. "Keep that in your pocket and under your pillow."

"What is it?"

"A spell bottle. The charcoal will filter the negative energies directed at you. The salt is for protection. Parsley for purification. Wintergreen for hex breaking. Just in case." She explained. "That'll help but you have to remember to take those practical steps. Spells and intentions are great and all, but if you don't put in the footwork you won't see the pay off."

He nodded and stood up. "Yeah, okay. Thanks."

She walked him to the door where he paid her in cash. "Tell your friends."

As he left Hiei came back, grass-stained and shirtless as usual.

 _Auntie put you through the ringer again I see._

 _Her friends._ He corrected. He'd been working over the last three weeks across the network of aunties, taking care of their lawns, pulling their weeds, cleaning their gutters. He even moved rocks and carried heavy items to and from storage for a few of them.

Always shirtless.

Always sweaty.

He extended an envelope to Victoria without looking at her. He kicked off his shoes behind the door and started up the stairs to shower. She opened the envelope and blinked.

"Hiei?" She questioned, confused. "What is this?"

Hiei turned halfway up the stairs to regard her. Then he signed, _Money. Are you so foolish you can_ _'t understand currency?_

 _But why?_

He hesitated to answer. Kurama's words had gotten to him, if he were being honest. She had gone out of her way to care for them and he wasn't in the habit of owing favors. This would keep them on even ground.

 _Because I wanted to._ He responded, glaring harshly to defy her to argue with him.

 _Thank you_. She smiled softly at him, closing the envelope and cradling it with care.

Hiei nodded and then finished making his way to the shower.

* * *

"Here." Kurama slid a check over to Victoria as she cooked dinner.

Money was falling from the sky for her today. "What is this?"

"I know you said not to worry but we really should be helping more. Don't even try to argue because this is just the right thing for me to do." Kurama raised his hand, palm out, to deflect any potential disagreement.

"How did you make this?" Victoria stared at the check.

"I've been tutoring children online. As it turns out, teaching English is a lucrative business if you target the overseas countries. And my science and math are up to par for helping college students." He waved his hand. "Really, this is only possible because of your generosity in giving me your old computer."

"You should keep your money Kurama." She told him. "You worked hard for that. Hiei, you too."

" _Tell her I kept over half."_ Hiei muttered around his bowl of leftover spaghetti that was he was eating an appetizer. Working gave him an appetite. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this hungry so consistently. In Makai, he could go weeks without food if needed. In this world if he didn't eat every few hours he felt aggressive and if he still ignored it, he started to feel slightly faint. Humans were so weak.

"We both kept about half for ourselves." Kurama explained for himself and Hiei. "I was able to open a bank account online, so this check is actually from my personal account."

"How?" Victoria set down the wooden spoon she'd been using to stir the shredded pork she was preparing for barbecue tacos.

"How?" Kurama's brow furrowed.

"How were you able to open a bank account? You don't have any information." She pressed. "You two are literally illegal aliens."

"Oh. That. Yes, I ran into that issue. After a quick Google search I came across information on the dark net and did some more research until I was able to access some underground sites. Eventually I found someone willing to supply me with the information I needed. Minamino Shuichi is officially an American citizen. My passport is in the mail." Kurama explained easily, as if this were perfectly normal. "Procuring that paperwork is actually where the rest of my money went for the time being. It's expensive, but that's to be expected. Even in our world dealing with illegal paperwork could be costly."

Victoria wasn't sure, exactly, she was supposed to say to all that.

"Tacos are almost ready. Grab the plates please." She segued casually, still reeling.

These two would be the death of her, if not literally than metaphorically. But as she finished with the pork and began setting out the tortillas she smiled. They both worked so hard and went through all this trouble on their own to pitch in. Maybe they were a handful, but she was actually going to be sad to see them go once they figured out how to get them home.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N: Still not dead! Ha. Take that 2018. Here are with another chapter. I got some more ideas for silly shit to add in, but for now I needed to do something vaguely plot relevant so take this! Love you all, thank you for your continued support!**

 **Also, I just want to say that I did not forget about Hank the dog. I just moved him to safe location for a while. I have been meaning to bring him back for several chapters it just got away from me. So. This wasn't that sitcom thing where a character is there for the first episode and then you never see them again even though they seemed mildly plot relevant. This is just me being an idiot.**

* * *

Ashland's parents chatted with Victoria in the living room, thanking her for being willing to take the child in overnight while they had a much needed break. Well, truly they were asking her to thank Uncle Hiei for them since he out at an auntie's house doing some form of shirtless manual labor. Victoria thought maybe today he was supposed to be helping rebuild part of a deck, something he had zero experience doing so Kurama had agreed to go with him.

She wondered if that meant they'd get paid double. She wouldn't doubt it with the way Kurama lulled people to do his bidding with that easy going smile of his.

That's how she'd ended up with a damn greenhouse she would never be able to upkeep once he was gone.

"So, will he be back soon? Ashland was really excited to show him her drawing and what she learned." Bethany looked around the house.

She really was decent people, Victoria lamented. Bethany was kind and pretty and it wasn't fair to hate her. It wasn't like she had _tried_ being the Stepfordian replacement her father had always wanted. Victoria forced herself to remember that Bethany wasn't the circumstance. Bethany was just a person. A beautiful, sweet, interlo-person.

"I think so. Pretty sure he's with Auntie Terry today. She never takes long. Generous tipper though." Victoria shrugged and scooped Ashland up into her arms when the child pulled on her hand. "We'll be fine until they get here though, won't we? Who needs those stinky boys anyway."

Ashland, her curls bobbing as she shook her head. "Uncle Hiei and Kurama aren't stinky Tia!"

"You haven't smelled their shoes. Yuck. Stinky boys." Victoria repeated wrinkling her nose comically.

"No!" Ashland giggled.

"Stinky, stinky boys."

"Are you sure this is okay?" Bethany asked again as her husband left the house to start the car and therefore the AC within it. "I know it's a lot to ask. She just really adores him, you know, and I know that you are capable Vicki I just don't want to be pushing this on you."

Stupid morally conscious beautiful woman, Victoria thought to herself feeling guilty. "No, it's fine. Really. Hiei likes Ashland and honestly, he hates like everyone so it's good for him to be around her. Softens him up, right?"

"Thank you Vicki. I mean it." Bethany smiled and then it wavered after Ashland climbed out of Victoria hold to go and race Hank around the yard. "I forgot you had a dog. He's so quiet."

"Yeah. He was with Grams for a bit until the guys got adjusted but he's back now." Victoria explained. "He's a good boy. It just took some effort to get Hiei to understand how to interact with a dog. It's like training a cat with that guy."

Bethany laughed. Something was off about the sound and Victoria honed in on it.

"You two okay?" She asked, using her chin to nod toward the front door. Her eyes scanned over her stepsister with gentle scrutiny, but still, she didn't miss anything. Bethany seemed to realize this because as she put on a fake smile and opened her mouth, her eyes studied Victoria in turn and then she let the facade drop.

"No. No we aren't. But this weekend will help. We're going to group counseling. It's a weekend seminar." She let the softness melt away for a moment revealing the tired imperfect woman waiting underneath the makeup and the big hair. "So I really mean it when I say thank you for being able to watch my little girl."

Victoria looked over the blonde then fixed her attention on the door, brows pulling down slightly as she felt out the situation. Finally, with more grit in her voice than she'd meant to allow she said, "Counseling can't fix everything but it's a start. If you ever need to get away, my door is always open to you and Ashland. After all," she paused and made sure her gaze bore into Bethany, "we're family."

Bethany swallowed and jumped when the door swung open. She immediately calmed when Hiei and Kurama walked through, both with sunburnt cheeks and shirt staining their skin. Her smile snapped back into place, her expression lifting as though is had never fallen and just like that the woman who lived under her skin slipped back into hiding. Victoria watched the transformation and once again looked toward the door, but now wasn't the time. There would be a time, no doubt in that, but it wasn't this moment. Hiei stopped by the stairs, barefoot and looked Bethany over then glanced at Victoria with his own brows pinched down. He said nothing but she knew then that maybe he wasn't as lacking in his psychic powers as she'd first assumed. Because that look told her that he knew.

He knew and he wasn't happy about what he'd just learned.

 _Ashland is chasing the dog. She wants to show you something._ Victoria signed to him with smile that warned him to keep quiet for now.

 _Shower first._

She nodded.

"I should go. Don't want to be late." Bethany hugged Victoria and fled the room. As soon as she was gone Hiei stopped midway up the stairs.

 _If you don_ _'t handle that, I will._ He warned his hostess with a harsh look.

 _Don_ _'t worry Hiei, it's under control._

He grunted and rushed up the rest of the stairs. It wasn't long after that the water started running. Victoria walked out to the porch so she could keep an eye on Ashland. Hank, the big silly lab mix that he was, chased the little girl without tiring. She laughed and laughed.

"Stay away from the pier, Ashland. You don't have on your vest." Victoria called, keeping a keen on eye on her blonde haired, curly-q guest.

"I can swim Tia !" Ashland yelled back, delighted as Hank knocked her down onto the gross and started licking her face.

"Don't care if you can float. You don't go near the pier without me." Victoria chuckled, walking over and pulling Hank away by his collar. Ashland shrieked in laughter again as Victoria started to tickle her relentlessly.

* * *

By the time Hiei and Kurama washed up Ashland had come inside and started watching cartoons in a now-grass stained pair of jeggings, her blush pink shirt practically ruined for the same stains. At least her little cream cardigan was safe. Victoria had decided she'd pretreat her other clothes at after the little girl changed for bedtime. For now, Doc McStuffins would mollify the five year-old. Kurama hung out on the bottom step for an extra moment, watching as Hiei padded barefoot to his young guest.

Ashland perked up upon seeing her favorite uncle and immediately signed a greeting to him, complete with a beaming wholesome smile. Hiei signed a greeting back before placing a hand atop her head and ruffling her already riotous curls. He pulled a few blades of grass from that blonde mess before falling into the seat next to her. Ashland immediately began explaining to him the premise of this particular episode. Hiei nodded along, disinterest written on his face, but she didn't seem to care or notice.

Kurama walked over to Victoria who watched from the kitchen.

"I have no idea what to make for dinner. I asked her if she wanted chicken nuggets or spaghetti and she said no." She explained to the redhead, arms crossed over her chest. "I've seen this episode no less than seven times."

"I imagine Hiei is about to get intimately familiar with it as well." Kurama chuckled. "Allow me to make dinner tonight. You've never eaten my cooking before, correct?"

"Correct." She nodded. "You sure? Kids can be picky."

"I'm well aware of picky. Yusuke has quite the discerning palette himself." Kurama told her.

That captured her interest, her attention snapping to him like a bear trap on a leg. He blinked at the sudden intensity of her stare.

"What," a blush crept into her cheeks as though she were embarrassed by her question. It surprised him because he hadn't realized Victory had the sense to be embarrassed by much, "what is Yusuke like? You know. For real."

He blinked again, then allowed himself to slip into a knowing smile. "Did I ever mention that Grams informed us that you were _obsessed_ with us _fictional_ _boy_ s?"

"That woman is a menace. She must be stopped." Victoria's expression soured, her blush deepening. "It's fine. Don't answer me. Maybe it's better that I stick with what I know of him anyway."

She was lying. He could tell by the way she shifted her weight on her feet and tightened her crossed arms, her attention slipping back to the TV and away from him.

"He's charismatic. Unusually so. But he's also very loud and uncouth, even after all these years. He swears too much. He's emotional, though, and physical. I don't mean just wanting to fight, I mean his means of affections. If he isn't cooking for someone he cares for he's likely touching them in some way. A hand on the shoulder, an arm around the neck, knuckles in your hair. And he and Kazuma have remained good friends." Kurama explained quietly. "It's been a while since Hiei has seen him. Years. After Yusuke and Keiko got married, Hiei decided it was best to stay away. He's afraid of watching Yusuke change."

"That's fair. I get that way when my friends get married too. Everything changes." Victoria acknowledged. "It's hard to accept change, especially when it directs someone you love away from you."

"Don't tell Hiei that. He might stab you." Kurama warned in a light-hearted tone.

"Is Kuwabara as warm and amazing as I remember? He always seemed so sweet. I hated him at first, y'know, but then like, he grew on me. His big, loud, brash, chivalry. Granted, I sort of find some of his views dated. I guess they were spot on for 90s feminism though." She allowed. "I think him and I would have been weird friends in school. Of the four of you, honestly, at my age I think he's the most realistically datable."

"I'll try not to take offense to that." Kurama joked. "He's still quite the gentleman. It took him some time to recover from Yukina's rejection but ultimately I think it was a timely resolution. Not pining for her allowed him to dedicate himself to his studies. He graduated school with a doctorate. He's been studying how to resolve the issue of some demon's requiring human mean to survive. His goal is to create an artificial substance that will provide the necessary nutrients so that the worlds can live in peace together."

"Oh. Like True Blood." Victoria immediately nodded. "Yeah, that's amazing! Good for him. I bet he's a little heart throb."

"He's actually working so hard I'm not sure if he even has time to date." Kurama pointed out. "He's quite dedicated to this cause. What is True Blood?"

"Oh, it's a show. Like, it was based on vampires being real and stuff. Someone made a blood substitute for them so they could integrate into society." She explained. "It's on HBO. I think I still have the DVDs somewhere. Maybe the attic? The last couple seasons weren't really up to my standards, but it is what it is. Well, it was actually a book series before it was a TV series. Lots of sex and gore and stuff."

He stared at her. "Your times are certainly different than ours."

"Because of the sex?"

"Yes, because of the sex."

Hiei glared at them, kneeling on the couch cushions to look over the back so he could sign. _Could you two shut the fuck up_?

 _Invested?_ Victoria signed back, smug. He spun around, throwing her a middle finger high enough so that Ashland wouldn't see it.

"Oh! Uncle Hiei!" Ashland beamed at up at Hiei with a thousand watt smile, her big blue eyes sparkling. "I didn't show you!"

She shrugged out of her cardigan after spending just a few seconds fighting with the buttons. Underneath, on her right arm, there was a long black swiggle drawn. It was thick, had some points that stuck out from the center mass. On her hand was a crudely drawn V. Hiei stared at it, then look at her face, then went back to looking at the mark trying to understand exactly what she was showing him.

"It's a dragon like you have!" She told him gleefully.

Hiei looked at the intricate mark on his own right arm, deigning him the wielder of the Dragon of Darkness Flame. Then he went back to staring at Ashland's imitation.

He didn't see the resemblance.

"I drew it myself!" She told him. "But momma said I could only use the washable markers so it comes off during my bath. Do you have to draw yours on everyday too?"

She drew this every day? To be like him?

Hiei felt affection swell in his chest despite himself. Then he shook his head to tell her no, he did not have to draw his.

"Daddy says I can't get a real tattoo until I'm fifty! How old were you when you got yours?" She asked him.

Hiei didn't know how to answer her. Finally he said, quietly so no one else would hear him speak (especially not Kurama who would never let him be quiet again), "I was older than fifty."

"Really?" Ashland frowned, pouting as she crossed her arms. "But I want a tattoo now! I want one like yours. It's pretty!"

"It's an ancient creature of ridiculous and all-consuming power. It is not pretty." Hiei argued quietly.

"Why are you whispering?" She asked him.

Her loud curiosity grabbed Kurama's attention. "Were you talking to me, Ashland?"

"No Kurama!" She yelled back to him. "I was talking to Uncle Hiei."

Kurama raised an eyebrow. Hiei glared at him, then told him to fuck off in Japanese. Ashland watched the exchange with bright-eyed curiosity.

Hiei had picked up English fairly quickly. He just preferred using ASL. It kept people from talking to him. Once they saw him using his hands to communicate they floundered and generally, conversation switched to Kurama or Victoria and left him entirely. He liked that. He only needed Kurama and Victoria to understand him anyway. Plus, this way people kept thinking he didn't understand them. It meant he could listen in on conversations without being suspected of gathering information. A truly valuable position.

Plus, when he practiced alone, even he could hear his thick accent. Not Japanese, like the edges of Kurama's words, but like Grams or Victoria. He only knew that it was a particular accent because none of the people in his favorite television shows sounded like him.

It wasn't bad, per se, but he had a feeling that the fox would never let him live it down. Victoria, also, would start speaking to him in that annoying voice of hers and he definitely didn't want that.

"Did you have to ask your mom before you got your tattoo?" Ashland asked and Hiei froze, looking at her.

He didn't know how to answer that.

"Ashland, remember how we talked about not asking Hiei questions about his family?" Victoria called gently. She walked over to her little niece. "I told you it wasn't polite to ask him things like that."

"Oh yeah, I forgot. I'm sorry." Ashland stuck out her bottom lip. "But why?"

Hiei glanced at Victoria, obviously wanting her to answer for him.

"Hiei doesn't have a mom anymore, Ashland. He doesn't like to talk about it." Victoria explained softly. "So please be nice to him and don't him ask about it."

"What happened to her?"

Red eyes stayed on Victoria. She felt the strange, sudden stabbing pain of a headache hit her brain. Her composure wanted to slip, but she didn't want to snap at the child for doing what children did best: asking questions. Instead she settled herself barely.

"His mom got sick. So he doesn't have her anymore."

"Like your mommy?"

The room stopped. Hiei looked at Ashland and Kurama stopped fiddling with the cabinets in search of ingredients for his meal. All three people waited for Victoria's response to the curious question.

"Sort of like my mommy. She got sick and she went away and now she's gone. So be a good girl and no more questions, okay?" Victoria patted those tangled blonde curls.

"Tia's mommy got sick and she went away too. It's okay. Momma says that she's watching us from heaven." Ashland patted Hiei's knee. "I'm sure your mommy is too."

"Ashland."

The sharpness of her tone made the little girl stare up, surprised and then hurt. Victoria swallowed and tried again, more gently.

"Ashland, no more please. You're a very sweet girl, and it's very nice you want to make Hiei feel better, but no more. Why don't you tell him about this episode, hmm?"

"Okay." Ashland answered, far less exuberant than usual. "I'm sorry Tia."

"I'm sorry too. I didn't mean to yell." Victoria closed her eyes, fighting the pain in her skull. "It wasn't okay to yell. I shouldn't have done that. I don't know why I did."

"Tia?" Ashland asked, concerned as Victoria wandered back toward Kurama.

"Wait, what we were talking about before?" Victoria frowned, thinking about it. Another bolt of white hot agony ran through her brain, eliminating her thoughts. She pressed the heel of her hand to her forehead to try to ebb it. "I'm getting a headache. My brain is all fuzzy and raw."

"Oh. Well, we were talking about Kazuma because we had been talking about Yusuke. This was all because I offered to cook." Kurama watched her wince. "Are you alright?"

"I'm going to take an aspirin." She told him. "Could you cook dinner? Really?"

"Yes, I already have a menu in mind."

"You're an angel K-drama." Victoria walked toward the downstairs bathroom. He listened as she shook a pill bottle and watched as she slammed back some small white pills. Then she wandered up the stairs, still holding her head with one hand.

When Kurama glanced to the couch he noticed Hiei watching, a similar frown to his own on the dark haired man's face.

* * *

Victoria didn't come down for dinner. Kurama set the counter and waited a few minutes, glancing at the neon green numbers on the oven clock. Then he wiped his hands on a dish towel and headed up the stairs. Hank sat on the floor outside her room, staring at the door. Kurama patted the dog's head gentle, earning a loving look, before he knocked gently on the door.

"Victoria, dinner is ready." He announced.

At first there was no response. He raised his hand to knock again but finally a strained voice answered him.

"Eat without me. I'm sorry, Kurama, I just can't get up right now."

He hesitated. "Are you alright? Can I get you something? I used to rub my mother's head when she got migraines, perhaps-"

"Please, just enjoy your meal." The forced gentleness in those words made him retract from the door.

Hank whined, looking up at him, then went back to staring at the door.

"I just need some sleep, I think."

"I'll save you some food in case you change your mind." Kurama allowed, concerned. She didn't thank him. He looked down at Hank again, but the dog was fixated on the door. Kurama suspected the animal felt just as he did, that something more was wrong with Victoria. He had never seen her go to bed like this in the several months he'd been living in her house. Not even when they'd first arrived and she'd been bleeding from a stab wound.

She'd still eaten then. She'd still made sure they were settled.

He relented to the silence and went back down the stairs to finish setting out the meal.

Hank watched him go then went back to staring at the door, waiting.

* * *

"Where's Tia?" Ashland asked, her little socked feet swinging under her as she balanced on the stool at the counter.

"She's feeling tired right now, so she's resting." Kurama explained as kindly as he could.

"What is this?" Ashland stared at the food in front of her.

"This is what Hiei and I eat when we are at home. My mother always makes me food like this when I see her." Kurama smiled at the little girl. "She's a very good cook, in my opinion. Is your mom a good cook?"

"She makes good chicken nuggets but daddy says she burns the meat too much." Ashland stared at the bowls of miso and the rice and the vegetables and the fish. "He doesn't like burned meat."

Hiei glanced at her, watching her carefully. Kurama recognized that expression. Assessment, intelligence gathering. Ashland wiggled in her seat then pulled her legs up so she could sit on them to be a little taller.

"Well, sometimes we all burn meat. It's okay." Kurama assured her. "I'm sure you daddy knows that."

"I don't think so. He yells at her a lot for it. That's why we eat out so much." Ashland told them. "But he never yells at PawPaw when he burns the steaks at the lakehouse. Only at momma."

Hiei gripped his cheap, disposable chopsticks a little too tightly.

"Ashland, does your daddy yell at you?" Kurama asked her with a small smile.

"No. He did once but momma yelled at him right back and he never did again. I cried though. It was scary." She tried to pick up chopsticks like Hiei, watching his hands.

Her casual tone, as though this was an everyday conversation startled both of them. The innocence of children was something to behold. The two men looked at each other and came to a silent agreement to protect this small creature. Hiei reached over and fixed her hand so she could use the utensils more easily. Then he picked up his bowl and sipped his miso straight from it.

Ashland's expression grew bright and she giggled. "Uncle Hiei you're supposed to use a spoon!"

"Just this once I think it's okay if you don't." Kurama winked at her. "Try not to spill okay. Do you need a spoon?"

"No, I can do it!" She assured him and picked up the bowl. Then, when it was too heavy for her, she instead lowered her mouth to the rim of the bowl and tipped it toward her little by little.

Kurama remarked several times on how impressed he was that she tried everything on her plate. Hiei led by example, devouring his own meal. They all laughed when Kurama was the one who spilled miso on his shirt, causing him to deadpan at Hiei who shot a smart remark at him in Japanese. Ashland told him he might need a bib like a baby. Hiei laughed at that too.

Kurama told them to stop ganging up on him, but he was smiling the entire time.

* * *

Victoria laid in her room nursing her head. It wasn't just a sharp pain, it was like a someone letting a miter saw go off right next to her ear. She could hear this constant, alarming, loud sound like something being cleaved open by force. Her brain rioted against the noise. Downstairs, the sound of laughter drifted up to her. She heard Hank whine outside her door.

"Stop." She begged the noise, the pain.

The aspirin had done nothing.

She hadn't felt something this bad since she was a teenager. The spot between her brows burned, right where Dorian had marked her. Her wards were in place though. There was no way this was him. Her guts rolled. Her body crumbled. She just wanted the pain to stop. She just wanted that noise to go away so she could sleep it off. She wanted to be downstairs with her friends and her niece. She wanted to pet her dog. Instead she was laying here, unable to get up because of her head.

Usual fucking essential organ. What good was a brain that attacked itself anyway?

The noise grew thunderous and she placed the heels of her palms against her temples, pushing inward.

Then suddenly, she wasn't in her bed anymore. She was elsewhere. Nowhere. Looking around she saw that there were two fluttering curtains of reality, one on either side. The one to her left was home, the world she knew. On her right was a roaring river, painted black despite the bloody red sky above it. The air smelled of decay and poison. Victoria tried to touch the strange thin barrier but her hand couldn't connect, couldn't grasp the slippery material. Ahead of her was a little girl in a blue dress, head covered in long blonde hair held in a large black bow. The girl stared at her, confused. No. Not a little girl. A teenager? The blonde looked to Victoria's right, through the diaphanous curtain separating them from the desert. A man stood behind her. He saw Victoria and he smiled.

"Alice, open it." He ordered and the girl.

She gripped the curtain without trouble. One hand on the right, the other on the left. Then she threw both open and Victoria screamed for her to stop as something streaked through the hole to the other side. Something that threw itself right into the lake that formed Victoria's own backyard.

"What have you done?" Victoria shouted at them. "You have no idea what you're messing with!"

The curtains grew thinner and the space between them shrank. Victoria panted. At some points, the two veils began to overlap when they connected and more and more of each of the worlds slipped through to the other sides. Her heart hammered. Her tongue went dry. This wasn't good. No. This was actually really bad. This was the worst possible thing.

Someone was tampering with the path between realities.

And now those realities were starting to bleed into each other, colliding with violent clashes. That sound in her head grew louder. The girl stared at her.

"Are you in Neverland too?" She-Alice-asked. "You're purple. You must be the Cheshire cat!"

"Time to go." The man behind her pulled on that thin little arm.

And then it all ended. Victoria was suddenly in her bed, covered in sweat and filled with dread unlike anything she'd ever felt before. The headache was gone. The noise had stopped. Hank whined, and scratched at the door frantically. He yipped several times.

Something else in Victoria came to the surface. A warning. That thing that had gone into her lake. Something else…something close to home.

With lightning in her veins she shot to her feet.

"Ashland."

* * *

Ashland walked around the backyard, wandering from long shadow to long shadow as the sun set behind the house. With a little jar Kurama had given her, she tried to catch the fireflies sparking to life. Her quest brought her to the pier. Victoria's warning long forgotten, she stepped on to the wood and started to dance around on the surface.

Hiei watched from the yard, amused at her antics.

"I caught one!" Ashland yelled, excited, turning to look at Hiei. She held her jar victoriously above her head.

He wished he was so easily pleased. If his goals were so low maybe he would be. Too bad he had loftier ambitions.

Ashton lowered the jar and walked to the edge of the pier, looking over the side without the pontoon. Setting the jar down on the wood slats, she lowered herself to her knees. The water moved as she watched.

"Uncle Hiei! I think I see a turtle! It's really big!" She turned to Hiei, delighted. "Come look!"

Hiei had seen plenty of turtles, but her being so close to the edge bothered him. He got up and started to walk toward her. That's when he saw the concave head, bulbous eyes, peek above the surface fixated on the oblivious little girl. Hiei started to run, shouting Ashland's name. Her blue eyes widened as she froze, scared by his sudden reaction.

A webbed hand shot out from the water and wrapped around her small arm, tugging her toward the water.

She looked at the monster's face and screamed, high-pitched and terrified.

Hiei reached her just as she was yanked off the pier. He dove, sliding painfully over the wood and grabbed her around the waist, pulling her back toward himself. With a growl he shouted at the creature, terrified of both him and the child being ripped into the water. They'd both be drowned or worse. Kappa's weren't always just the tricksters they were often portrayed as. They could nasty, vicious beasts.

Monsters who would do terrible things to a little girl before eating her.

Hiei held onto Ashton for life as she screamed. He reached forward and wrapped his hand around the kappa's slick wrist. A mouth full of sharp teeth opened. Ashland struggled to get her hand back.

And then stomping footprints brought his attention to Victoria's presence. Without pause she shoved her hand down against the water spirit's face, forcing it's head back. Her eyes glowed blue. She wielded a stone in her other hand. Raising her left hand, her right hand gripping the kappa's face, her voice sounded like it came from everywhere.

"You are not welcome here!"

It shrieked, releasing Ashland. Hiei and the child both fell back from the sudden release. Victoria dropped the stone into the water and her hand replaced Hiei's on the creature's wrist. Without mercy she yanked back. There was a gloopy pop and a scream. The kappa floundered, thrashed and cried out while she held its arm out of its reach. Swallowing her heaving breaths, Victoria operated on instinct.

"You owe me." She hissed. The kappa grew still and quiet. "I will give you your arm back, but for a price."

"What are you doing?" Kurama demanded, hovering by Hiei and Ashland. He examined the little girl's arm and found her intact. Terrified but in tact. "Victoria, do you have any idea-"

"Protect us." Victoria held the arm back to the water spirit. It took the appendage from her without further fuss. It's black eyes examined those on the pier watching it. "Stay close. I will feed you. You will be safe if you stay and protect us."

The glow faded from her eyes and the creature nodded, reattaching its own arm. Victoria rose to standing and looked at her niece, at the two men who lived with her. "We're going to need a lot of cucumbers added to the shopping list."

Before any of them could comment on the situation or her reaction, blood began to drip from her nose. She touched the red smear as it grew heavier, then her eyes rolled into her head and she listen backwards collapsing onto the pier with a heavy thud.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N: I just want you all to know I** **'ve had that stupid "I've only had X for 24 hours but if anything happened to it I'd kill everyone in this room then myself" meme stuck in my head for three weeks with an image of Hiei holding Ashland, so now you can all suffer with me. Also, I deleted my old writing twitter which was bogged down with my old sins from that one time I was an idiot and self-published a novel that was NOT shelf ready. That means I made a new twitter! Hurrah! Find me at WistfullySin if you want to see pictures of my thoughts and sporadic updates on my stories/thoughts.**

 **Also, I know I need to go back and correct some things in Ch14 and that** **'s next on my agenda!**

* * *

Hiei stalked into the house and sat Ashland on the counter, examining her. He turned her arms, her face, everything that had been near the kappa. A few bruises marred her wrist but the limb functioned and she didn't wince or cry out when he prodded at it. She was intact. Globs of snot streaked over her cheeks and tears dripped off her chin, or at least he hoped those were tears since his hand was now soaked with the liquid. Not to mention his shirt. Finding Ashland in one piece dampened his fury, but only dampened. It was not snuffed out.

The anger made it easier to ignore his own aches. The bruise on his throbbing hip from where he'd thrown himself down on the wood to grab the child. The scrapes up his side and down his leg from sliding over the pier. His ribs hurt. All this was buried under his concern and anger.

He'd give almost anything for a sword and his energy at the moment.

Ashland pulled on his arms until she had managed to crawl but into them, wrapping herself around his chest, little arms clinging to his neck. Even as he held her close, palms flat on her back to keep her in place, he grimaced. Whatever she'd just smeared on his neck had most definitely _not_ felt like tears.

"Ashland." Hiei's spoke her name in a low rumble, trying not to further scare her but needing her attention.

Hiccups came before a watery, "What?"

"You're safe." He kept his voice low, eyes glancing toward the door. Kurama would be soldiering up the yard with Victoria soon so he needed to speak his piece quickly. "As long as we're here, you're safe."

"But the demon turtle!" She started wailing again, little body shaking with sobs and fear.

"It can't hurt you anymore." He promised her, resolute. And it wouldn't. If Victoria's stunt didn't work then Hiei was sure a fishing pole, muscle and some palmed sized sharp rocks (perfect for caving in skulls) would resolve the issue. He continued. "I have to help Victoria. You'll have to go with Kurama."

"No! Kurama isn't as strong as you! He won't save me!" She argued into his neck, holding him tighter.

Hiei pulled her off of him despite her protesting whine and attempts to keep latched around him. Standing her on her feet, he knelt down to her eye level. Despite his amusement that Ashland had assessed him the stronger of the pair, he scowled.

"When I need protecting, I go to Kurama."

He reached up and pulled a dish rag out of a drawer, beginning to wipe her face free of whatever gunk crying children excreted.

"You do?" She asked quietly, her tears slowing.

"Yes. So you'll be strong like me and you'll go with Kurama."

She sniffled, a gross wet sound he despised to his core, and then nodded. "Okay, Uncle Hiei."

He nodded back and picked her up again to sit on the counter beside the sink. The dry cloth simply wasn't enough to cleanse her cheeks. He turned on the water, wet the rag, and went back to work. Once he was done with her face, he wiped his neck and washed his hands. The fury rampaging through him had grown quiet, lurking, waiting for its moment to reappear. He hated this. He hated being too weak to fight a _kappa_ of all things. He loathed that water could instill such dread in his being. And worst of all, he'd allowed Ashland to nearly be drowned because he was powerless. He was a pathetic excuse for a demon no better off now than he'd been when he'd first received the jagan.

He couldn't even blame his ineptitude on this stupid human body because VIctoria hadn't hesitated to attack. She'd charged their assailant without fear. She'd ripped the arm of a beast that could have killed and eaten her if she had made even the slightest mistake.

That glow in her eyes, the echo of her voice… her losing consciousness. He knew she'd used too much of her energy. She was the same as him that way. She'd need rest and a safe place to recover.

Hiei realized then that he had never seen Victoria at her best. Even holding a gun to his jaw she'd never had glowing eyes or exuded such an intense aura as what he'd felt on the dock. Was this how she fought demons in her world? Had they only ever glimpsed the tiniest crumbs of her power?

The idea of it chilled him. What would she be like in his world? Coming here had robbed Kurama and himself of their power. Would it be the same for her, or would the reverse be true?

The door creaked open and Kurama struggled to navigate himself and the woman on his back through the narrow doorway. Hiei pulled Ashland from the counter, setting her on her feet once more before moving to accept Kurama's violet haired burden from him. Victoria's hair had grown int he months they'd been together, revealing over an inch of dark roots.

" _How is she?_ " Kurama asked, nodding toward Ashland who watched them with large, wet blue eyes. Her blonde ringlets were frazzled from how much she'd rubbed her head against Hiei's chin and shirt.

" _She_ _'ll live_." Hiei responded, dragging Victoria by hooking his arms under her armpits. He propped her sitting up against the back of the couch, turning her face this way and that the same as what he'd done with Ashland.

" _She might_ _'ve hit her head. We shouldn't move her, Hiei."_ Kurama fussed, moving to stop Hiei's examination.

" _That_ _'s not it."_ Hiei scoffed and began gently wiping the blood from her face where it poured from her nose. " _You can_ _'t see the signs? I'm disappointed in you. She's overexpended her energy, Kurama._ "

Kurama couldn't decide which surprised him more, Hiei's caring touch on Victoria's face as he cleaned her up or by Hiei's likely correct assumption. He'd disregarded the idea without realizing it because they didn't have their own energy. A foolish notion, as Victoria very obviously had her own energy and power. Still, this was a different world and Victoria's body played by different rules.

Energy or not though, unlike Hiei, she was very human. " _It could be both, Hiei. Please be careful with her._ "

" _I can handle this one. You should change your clothes and look after Ashland._ _"_ Hiei didn't look over his friend.

" _My clothes?_ " Kurama asked. He wanted to point out Hiei's state to him, the tears in his tank top, the blood peeking through the tattered material. Not to mention the crusty dry spots on his chest.

" _She_ _'s bled all over you._ " Hiei gestured loosely to a large red patch on Kurama's white tee.

"Is Tia going to be okay? Why is she sleeping? Why is she bleeding? Does she need a doctor?" Ashland's questions came as she shuffled closer to the two men. "Did the demon turtle hurt her?"

" _That's a pretty accurate name_." Kurama muttered to Hiei, vaguely impressed with the ingenuity of children.

Hiei and Kurama exchanged a look before Hiei point at Victoria and signed _Okay_ for the little girl whose sign was still impossibly limited.

"She'll be alright, I'm sure of it. Now, why don't we go get into our pajamas? I think it would be fun to camp in the living tonight so we can all stay together. What do you think?"

Ashland expressed her muted excitement for hte idea. Kurama walked over and took her by the hand, leading her to the stairs.

"You can help pick out pajamas for Hiei too." Kurama offered as they ascended the steps, chuckling when Hiei yelled at him.

* * *

Kurama used his phone to get a snapshot of the three sleeping figures cuddled together on the living room floor. Hiei lay in the middle of Victoria and Ashland atop the pulled off couch cushions. The little girl slept mostly strung over Hiei, short arms draped over his chest, small body pinned to his side by a protective arm, her head tucked against his shoulder, blonde curls mingling with thick straight strands of black. Victoria lay on her side facng away from them exactly where Hiei and Kurama and placed her hours before. Her back pressed flush to Hiei's ribs on the side opposite Ashland, not by her own movement but because Hiei had chosen to lay that close to her. A blanket swaddled the three of them straining to encompass their forms.

It was a rare moment he wanted to document for his own sake. Hiei so openly displaying his protectiveness of the two girl had startled Kurama, but it also pleased him immensely. His mind turned back to the idea Grams had planted in him weeks before. He and Hiei were changing as a result of being here.

He wondered how his friend would handle going back to his old life. Would he miss Ashland, in all her rambunctious glory? Would he miss Victoria and the lake? Kurama suspected that Hiei would miss the lake itself most of all.

Kurama knew he himself would miss this place, these people. Thinking about their eventual separation no longer filled him with hope and relief. Instead an uneasy sense of loss came to him. It was an honest feeling which told him the truth whispering beneath everything. Yes, he wanted to go home. There was so much he missed and people he longed to be with. He wanted to taunt Kaito with his adventures and the knowledge he'd gained from Google. He wanted to tell his mother he was alive and well and maybe a little thirsty for an American sweet tea. Yusuke would be envious and enamored with their adventures. Kazuma would be endlessly enthralled with the fact they had somehow crossed through not only dimensions but whole realities. Yes, there was so much he longed to do once he got back.

Still, that preliminary sense of mourning warned him that he would miss being here too, and that going home wouldn't be as easy as he had once thought. Knowing this now, he wanted to savor the rich flavor of these eventual memories.

So he took another picture, this time with himself in the frame so he could prove that this had been real. Not prove to others, but to himself. On long nights when he'd surely be alone, he would want to call on these moments. Once they got back to their world Hiei would likely dart off to explain himself to Mukuro, once again existing on the fringe of their once tight-knit gang. Kurama would need this reminder of his friend's existence once he too reentered his life.

Hank stood-well laid-guard by the back door Kurama sat and watched over the three most impacted by the evening's earlier trauma. Hiei had insisted on taking first watch but Ashland refused to sleep without him. She had been utterly terrified of what she called "the demon turtle".

If he were being honest with himself, Kurama was more than a little terrified too. Victoria had told them before that their presence had changed things. When the will-o-wisps had appeared she'd been curious. Hadn't she told him they didn't have such spirits here? At the time he hadn't cared much. More so he'd found it interesting and he'd been invested in puzzling out their hostess and her intentions.

But a kappa did not belong in their lake. He didn't need any of the locals to tell him that. Its existence screamed of bad omens. What else might lurk out there now? What others dangers hovered just out of sight?

He studied Victoria as she slept, a frown solidly on his face.

She'd never awoken after falling unconscious on the dock. In fact, she was still in her day's clothing because neither man felt it right to undress her. Hiei had announced she was fine, no major injuries to be found once Kurama and Ashland had eventually come back down the stairs. Ashland had been so attached to Hiei out on the dock, and Hiei had been so angry and worried for her in turn that Kurama hadn't argued when the other man had hauled the child toward the house and got as far from the water spirit as possible. It had fallen on Kurama then to carry the woman into the house.

While Hiei tended to Victoria, Kurama and Ashland had made up their camp in the living room. It had lightened the girl's spirits some, so it had accomplished its role as a distraction. By the time Hiei had laid Victoria on the cushions of their fort everyone seemed much calmer.

A million worries flooded Kurama's brain for Victoria and her health. Did she have a concussion? Were they allowing her to quietly die in their presence instead of doing as Ashland had suggested, calling an ambulance? Was it merely what Hiei had said, a case of severe over-exhaustion? Was it brain trauma? Victoria had been ill earlier that evening and afternoon, snappish and in pain. Could they really discount that one had something to do with the other? So many explanations for why she'd collapsed with a nosebleed.

His anxiety about it kept him alert. He watched her breath, checked her face frequently to see if she was bleeding again. He even checked her pulse a few times, finding momentary relief in the steady beat of her heart. He wanted her to wake up so he could be absolutely sure. He needed to be sure.

Before, he would have worried over her health because it would have directly impacted getting him home. Now, that came second to the fact he was scared for his friend.

Hank shot to his feet, which prompted Kurama to do the same as the knob on the front door turned back and forth. Eyes narrowed, Kurama moved to stand between the sleeping people and the door, feet slid apart and hands poised for combat. He wasn't fond of hand to hand, but he'd do what it took. The sound of cloth moving earned a glance behind him. Hiei stood with a glower so powerful it almost scalded him, and in his hand was the handle of a large kitchen knife. Without waiting for their intruder to actually manipulate the lock Hiei stomped around Kurama, unlocked the door from their side, and then grabbed the person on the other side by their shirt, dragging them down to the floor so he could straddle them, dropping the knife in a downward strike.

"Stop that!"

Hiei's attack stopped, his body going rigid as Grams crossed the threshold. Vanessa lay under Hiei, her shirt still wound in his fist, her face scrunched as she prepared to be struck by his weapon. Kurama's pulse raced in his ears.

Hiei dropped Vanessa's shirt and stood up, his glare settling on her first then turning toward Grams. He spun the knife in his fingers idly, shoulders still tensed. He was coiled to spring but containing himself, Kurama noted. The fact Grams' command had been so impactful, robbing Hiei of his momentum mid-strike raised his eyebrows. Was this the strange power Hiei had been so adamant Victoria and Grams wielded?

"Hey guys." Vanessa offered the smallest greeting, accepting Kurama's extended to help her rise to her feet.

"What are you thinking waving that thing around?" Grams laid into Hiei, wagging a finger at him. "Do you have any idea what could have happened?"

Hiei crossed his arms, knife still held in his right hand, and stared at her dully before purposefully glaring at the wall. He offered no response other than rageful silence.

"We've had quite the night already." Kurama spoke tensely. "We are both on edge. Perhaps had we known you were stopping by we would have greeted you both in a more appropriate manner. Although, I would like to know where you got that knife from, Hiei."

" _The kitchen_." Hiei nearly spat the answer. The tendon in his neck protruded as his frustrated mounted. He snarled. " _Ask them why they_ _'re here."_

"Where is Vick?" Vanessa asked, looking around the living room. Ashland sat up and yawned, rubbing her eyes and calling for her mom tearfully.

"She was just there." Kurama frowned, looking at the section of cushions Victoria had been sleeping on. "Hiei?"

" _She was there when I got up._ _"_ Hiei frowned too, looking around the room. _"You didn't see her?"_

Grams went to the child and picked her up, rubbing her back. Vanessa wandered up the stairs calling for Victoria by her nickname, checking her room then the boys' room. Kurama peeked out the front door, glancing around the lawn before stepping back in and shutting the door behind him. Hiei looked out back, Hank the dog next to him. He made sure to pull the dog back in by the collar.

The toilet in the downstairs restroom flushed and the door opened, Victoria stepping out to be greeted by several sets of eyes on her. She looked exhausted, glancing from face to face.

"What? I washed my hands." She told them and Kurama chuckled, but it was reserved.

She looked awful, as though she hadn't already slept several hours. His concern that she had actually hurt herself renewed. It was Hiei that strode to her side first though, Hiei who seemed to realize she was unsteady on her feet because he shouldered himself under her arm just before she sagged downward, Hiei who helped her sit on the floor. Vanessa rushed to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.

"Thanks." Victoria offered weakly in response to the cold glass pressing into her palm.

 _You should still be_ Hiei floundered then, not knowing the sign for hibernating. Instead he signed _long_ and _sleep_ together, doing his best to get his annoyed point across. Victoria watched his hands, then her brows sluggishly pulled together and she offered the slightest shake of her head. He got the gist that she didn't understand so he turned to Kurama.

" _Tell her she_ _'s an idiot and she should still be hibernating."_

Kurama, somewhat amused by the adamant tone Hiei took, acquiesced. "Hiei said you should still be hibernating. He seems to believe that your state is due to you using too much energy."

"He's right." Grams offered, laying Ashland who had gone quickly back to sleep onto the couch cushion fort. "You over did it. Again."

"Had to be done." Victoria sputtered, coughing around the water in her throat. Hoarsely she continued, "Couldn't let it win."

"It?" Vanessa asked, looking to Kurama for answers.

"We had an unfortunate visit from a kappa this evening. It attempted to take Ashland. Without Victoria and Hiei's interference, our young friend would have surely been eaten." Kurama explained in that boggling calm manner of his.

Hiei hunched into his shoulders. He had done nothing to save Ashland in his opinion. He was powerless to do more than hold onto the screaming child and hope that he could win a game of tug-o-war with a water spirit. He said nothing about it. Then he eyes dipped down as he felt fingers brush the back of his knuckles. Victoria offered him a wan smile, giving his hand a single gentle squeeze before she retracted the touch all together.

He hated that she knew he felt weak.

"It wasn't just the kappa." Victoria cut through the murmured discussion between Grams, Kurama and Vanessa. "It was the thing that brought the kappa here. I saw it. Or her, I guess. I saw her."

"What?" Vanessa jerked around to stare at her friend. "Who?"

"The girl responsible for all of this." Victoria closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the wall.

"Excuse me, baby." Grams nudged Hiei out of the way so she could kneel beside her granddaughter, back of her hand coming to rest on Victoria's forehead. After a moment she kissed her forehead too. With a cluck of her tongue she pulled back, frowning. "You're feverish."

"I didn't make this up. It was not a fever dream." Victoria's tone turned sharp as her defenses rose. "I know what I saw."

"I'm not saying you made it up honey, I'm saying you're feverish." Grams tutted back.

"Vick, what happened?" Vanessa sank down too.

Kurama, as the last man standing, felt awkward about just leering over everyone else so he too came to floor, seating with his legs tucked neatly underneath him. He waited for Victoria to explain herself. Hiei looked to him, eyes pinched slightly, so he offered a nod in return. If Victoria had really encountered the being responsible for this what did that mean for them?

"It started as a headache. It came out of nowhere. Kurama saw me, I went from fine to dying in minutes." Victoria began. "I had to go to bed. It was awful. Like this sound started and it started getting louder and louder and louder until I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't think. It hurt so much.

"I remember Kurama asking me to come down to eat, but I couldn't even get out of bed. I can't really describe the sound, but it like listening to something being ripped out against its will. Like, someone ripping the door to a vault open but at the same the vault was trying to repair itself? I can't… I never heard anything like it before. Never. I just wanted it to stop.

"I closed my eyes, and then, suddenly, I wasn't here anymore. Or, I was, but I was also _there._ I was standing on the path between worlds."

"Victoria." Grams' voice was stern but quiet.

"I didn't do it on purpose." Victoria offered back tersely.

Hiei raised his eyebrows. He'd never heard or seen Victoria be disrespectful to her grandmother. They seemed impossibly close and in tune with one another. He didn't know what her statement implied, exactly, but he knew it wasn't something she was supposed to be doing. Grams' wrinkles deepened as her expression continued to sour.

"Path between worlds?" Kurama ventured, looking solely at Victoria. "What does that mean, exactly?"

"It means she was on the astral plane, standing between here and there." Grams told him. When he raised an eyebrow, she turned her bright blue eyes to Vanessa. "You speak science better than I do."

Vanessa grimaced. "I wouldn't call this science, exactly, Grams. But I'll try. Okay, so imagine this is our world," she held up the pointer finger on her left hand then the pointer finger on her right, "and this is another world. See the space between them? That's what they call the astral plane. It's the inbetween. In this case it would be the space between here and the otherside, like where demons come from."

"Interesting. The three worlds exist cohesively in our world. There is no inbetween to get stuck in." Kurama hummed then. "I guess there is limbo, but you're not likely to get caught there on accident."

"Going to the astral plane is dangerous because if you can't come back, you just get stuck nowhere." Grams told him. "Not to mention, it draws trouble. That space isn't meant for mortals to walk, and if you go there you might come back with something following on your heels. Something that destroys your bathroom."

"That's not what this was." Victoria leaned more heavily against the wall behind her, her permeating exhaustion showing on her face. "This wasn't like then. This wasn't like when I went looking for Dorian, Grams. This was… it was the same but somewhere else. This wasn't us and them. It was _us_ ," she gestured to the three women, then looked at Kurama and Hiei, "and _them_."

"Wait, you're saying you were walking the space between our reality and theirs?" Vanessa stared, agape. "That's impossible Vick. That's straight up-"

"I know what I saw." Victoria ground out again.

Grams and Vanessa pressed their lips thin, forcing themselves to be quiet. Kurama reached over and set his palm on the top of Victoria's curled fist where it lay on her lap. His touch allowed her to exhale slowly, closing her eyes.

"I know what I saw." She repeated more calmly. "And I saw the veils, curtains, whatever you want to call them. It was surreal. I was on this path and it was barely wide enough for my body, the veils were fluttering on either side. I saw the lake on my left and then on the right, I saw a river, black as jet. The sky was red but it wasn't reflecting in the water. I tried to grab it, y'know, the barrier or whatever but I couldn't touch it. There wasn't resistance really, it was more like, I guess my timing was wrong? Like, we kept missing each other, the barrier and me. Then I looked ahead and I saw her.

"She was just this slip of a girl. Long blond hair, blue dress. She couldn't have been older than fourteen, fifteen. She was so young. But she could grab it. She could touch the veils and she did. She pulled them open. That's when the kappa jumped over. Other things came too, but I didn't see where they went or what they were or how many. I just saw a blur dive into the lake. Then there was this man behind her, and he called her Alice. I don't know what the hell that was, but I know a demon when I see one."

Victoria closed her eyes, pulling her hand from Kurama's to rub her face.

"She said something to me. I screamed for them to stop, that they didn't understand what they were doing. But the kid, she said something weird. She asked if I was in Wonderland too? Then she called me the Cheshire cat." Victoria's hand dropped back to her lap, limp, and she looked up at the ceiling with blank eyes. In a whisper she said, "I don't think she knows she's breaking reality."

"Breaking reality?" Vanessa swallowed, posing the question with a shaky, quiet voice.

"The path between grew thinner." Victoria explained. "The veils began to overlap more and more. And where they overlapped, they bled together."

Everyone grew hushed, the entire room deadly silent.

"Someone is using that little girl to end the world."

The truth, uttered so blandly from Victoria's lips, rocked them all. Together they sat on the floor midway between the kitchen and living room, each one considering the ramifications of this new realization. Then Victoria winced, grabbing at her head and uttering the smallest, pained cry.

"Vick?" Vanessa grabbed at her shoulders, fearfully looking first to Kurama then Grams for help.

But Kurama was busy with Hiei, who had covered his ears with a snarl, one eye closed and the other barely open as he hissed, " _What is that god awful fucking noise?_ _"_

"There is no noise, Hiei." Kurama answered in English.

"It's the barrier I put up around the house." Victoria choked out. "Something is hitting it. Something strong."

A voice called to them from outside the front door, loud and beckoning. " _Victoria_ , come out come out wherever you are!"

"You said nothing followed you." Grams shot at her pained granddaughter. "That is not nothing, Victoria."

" _Victoria_ ," the voice sang, deep and amused.

"I'm going to rip his goddamn throat open and watch him choke to death on his own fucking blood." Victoria snapped, fury suddenly painting over her eyes and face as she rolled to her feet. Wrathful she glared at the group still on the floor. "Stay here. I'll handle this."

She went up the stairs as the man's voice sang her name again and again, each time with another taunt to get her attention. When she came back down the stairs, she had her gun in her hand. Jerking the door open, she stomped outside with a fierce sneer.

"What the ever loving fuck do you want, Dorian?" She yelled at him, marching across her driveway to the perimeter of her land. He stood there, toes pressed to the line, a devilish smile on his face. His shined shoes managed to reflect the lights from the house. His suit, as usual, was immaculately cut to his form, his hair gelled back from his face. And his eyes, they were glued to Victoria.

"You've been busy." He told her, amused with her anger. "Nice barrier, but you're getting weaker by the minute and so is it. It's only a matter of time before I break through."

"Eat me." She spit. "You're not getting in here, Dorian. Not while I still breathe."

"No?" He tilted his head and smiled with too much teeth as he watched her lift the heel of her hand to the spot between her brows. "I think you're overestimating yourself, Victoria. Look at you. You wasted all your energy, didn't you? You've got nothing in reserve. As you are, you're nothing. Let me in. It'll be easier on you if you do."

"Fuck you." She hissed, raising her gun with a shaky hand. Victoria pointed the barrel at his chest, keeping the weapon just barely on her side of the protective line. The barrier had to remain intact, if it fell Dorian would find Kurama and Hiei. She did not want that to happen.

"We've done this dance before, love. You know it won't work." He reminded her.

* * *

"Dorian? As is in the one that nearly killed Victoria months ago?" Kurama demanded, watching as Grams rushed around the room. She dug out Victoria's chest of stones and started pilfering through the pile.

"Yes." It was Vanessa who answered him.

"We have to go help her." Kurama nodded for Hiei to follow him to the door. "We can't allow her to fight someone that powerful alone."

"No." Vanessa trembled as she placed herself between them and the door, shaking her head. "Vick has taken a lot of pain to keep you guys hidden from him. You're not in your world anymore, you aren't strong enough to help her. Don't get in the way."

"Move." Kurama told her firmly, eyes growing dark. "Vanessa, you are a friend, but I will move you if I have to. We will not allow Victoria to die to save us. Right Hiei?"

No answer came. Vanessa dared to move her attention from Kurama's face just as the redhead turned around.

"Hiei?" He called.

Hank whined, scratching at the screen door leading to the back porch. The main door had been thrown open. Vanessa swore and Kurama stared, eyes wide. Grams stared at the door too, disbelief obvious in her expression.

"Well, that's not good." Grams spoke, but even to Kurama she sounded mildly impressed. "That boy is light on his feet for someone who carries so much anger around."

* * *

Dorian knocked on the protective barrier with his knuckles once again, and the connection of his energy against her spell made Victoria wince again. She staggered, that spot he'd kissed on her forehead searing. Stumbling from the pain, from the exhaustion, from the panic, she didn't notice her gun sliding over the line until Dorian grabbed the pistol by the barrel and used it to drag Victoria off her property.

His hand found her throat immediately, squeezing and crushing as he lifted her off her tired feet.

"You've done a good job, pet. Look at you, so strong and so fierce. But you overstepped when you went astral. Too bad. Now, I'm going to ask once more. What did you see?"

Victoria grabbed at his wrist, trying to pull at his vice-like fingers. She choked, swinging her feet.

"I'm waiting." Dorian's tone grew colder. "Tick tock, Victoria. You're running out of time."

Dorian hissed, dropping Victoria who landed in a wheezing heap on the rocky driveway. Blood welled up from a thin cut on the demon's wrist, the fabric of his suit sleeve and the cuff of the white shirt underneath cut through.

Hiei's dark hair bled into the darkness of the night, his knives glinting. Dust curled up around his boat shoes and bared calves as he came to a stop in a wide stance. His mouth twisted upward into a grin, his eyes glowing delight. Victoria groaned behind him, tucked safely back behind the barrier of her own creation. Hiei barely spared her a glance, his attention firmly on the dapper finger before him. He spun one of the knives and lowered himself slightly, ready to spring.

Excitement coiled through him for the first time in ages.

Kappas and lakes weren't his element. Not even close. But cutting demons to pieces for touching things they weren't supposed to touch?

Now that was _entirely_ in his area of expertise.

And how ready was he to show this asshole everything he knew.


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: hey y'all. Here is chapter 16! I'm actually pretty happy with how this turned out. I also have news! I've begun working on an update schedule and I've decided that I want to update on the 1st and 15th each month. It should keep me consistent, not be too much pressure and allow you all to know when to expect updates.**

 **Thank you all for reading, favoriting, commenting and following. I really do appreciate every single one of you new and old. This story would be significantly less fun to write without all of you!**

* * *

Hiei grinned, feral and gleaming, as he readied himself for battle. He felt alive, thrilled to his core. This was where he shone brightest, where he could do what no one else would dare to try. He didn't bother checking behind to see Victoria's state. Either she was fine or she wasn't, either way he wasn't going to be the one to pull her to safety. One of the women arguing with Kurama or even the redhead himself could take on that task. Hiei had done enough cleaning wounds for one day. Now, oh now he focused solely on the man before him standing there in the muted light in that suit that reminded the shorter man so much of the member's of the Black Black Club. He had never been granted his true revenge against them for pulling him into The Dark Tournament, nor for what they had done to Yukina by proxy.

This man had been ready to kill Victoria, it had shone in his eyes, radiated in his strength as he'd held her aloft.

Hiei supposed that meant he would be a pretty damn good substitute for that rage he wasted on phantoms so many years before.

This was a victory, a fight, he would not be robbed of. So he held his stolen kitchen knives and regarded his enemy and he took satisfaction in the flash of shock that rocked through Dorian. This was obviously a man who thought himself impervious. Hiei repressed a snort at the thought. He'd knocked loftier demons from their pedestals.

The anger at himself for being useless hours before fueled him as he launched forward. He wasn't about to let another demon onto his territory to hurt his humans. Not again. The kappa had been a stab in his pride, poking a weakness he hadn't cared to correct. Sometime in the days to come he'd make Victoria teach him how to swim. Dorian stepped back from him as he got close, holding the knives close to his own body before attacking.

Knives were a different beast from his sword. They required less room, and in some ways, less force. He wouldn't be claiming any limbs with clean cuts with these smaller blades but he could definitely cut Dorian from navel to sternum and watch his innards spill out. He could slash at arteries and wait for the red to stain that dusty earth beneath those stupid shined shoes. Hiei ducked in close, swooping behind Dorian who spun at the wrong moment and hissed as the edge of a blade snaked over his ribs.

"What the hell are you?" Dorian growled at him, his previous composure thoroughly rattled and broken.

"I'm better than you, that's all you need to know." Hiei offered his response steadily as he darted to the side, forcing Dorian to step out of his way or take another hit.

"I can't believe she managed to hide you for so long. Victoria isn't normally that good at keeping her secrets." Dorian smiled then, and when Hiei struck out once more, he weaved away with casual grace. "I appreciate your blood lust, but you should have stayed hidden behind her precious barrier. Now that you're out here with me she can't protect you."

"Out here with you?" Hiei offered a single, small dismissal shake of his head while never allowing his gaze to waiver from his opponent. "You're out here with me."

"Are you misquoting Rorschach?" Dorian paused to stare at Hiei, perplexed.

"What the fuck is a Rorschach?" Hiei stopped momentarily as well, annoyed at this deficit in his knowledge. "Is he another fighter?"

"Oh honey, no." Dorian shook his head, his tone laden with amused pity. "I understand a bit more now. Bless your heart, Victoria must have her hands full taking care of you."

Hiei didn't understand _everything_ about English, but he knew for a fact the way Dorian had said _bless your heart_ had been a poorly veiled insult. Victoria said that stupid line all the time when someone annoyed her.

"Keep your blessings to yourself." Hiei spit, lunging into action once again. This time he managed to cut through Dorian's jacket and shirt, though he barely knicked the skin beneath as the demon jumped back.

"You're faster than I would have expected. Most men can't touch me. I know for a fact Victoria can't." Dorian seemed mildly impressed, which in a way egged on Hiei's pride.

But Hiei was also curious why the demon couldn't seem to keep Victoria's name out of his mouth.

When he went in for another attack, sure of his victory, when Dorian moved far too quickly. A palm strike to the side of his head, the twisting of his wrist the wrong way to force the knife from his left hand, the taste of dust of coating the inside of his mouth, it all happened so quickly Hiei wasn't fully certain which action had occurred first. He grunted as a knee landed unceremoniously in the softness just below his sternum, the flat of Dorian's shoe pinning down his right wrist without regard for how the gravel bit through Hiei's skin. Fury bloomed in Hiei's chest, molten hot. Once again he found himself outdone on his own territory. Bested by a man in a _suit._

 _He was a laughing stock._

He refused to show his defeat on his face, instead ducking his chin down to offer a venomous glare to the being lording over him. A thought occurred to Hiei, one that made him grimace inwardly. Underhanded tactics weren't something he enjoyed stooping to, but at some point in the past this act had disabled him for capture, hadn't it? Hiei's fingers curled around a palmful of dirt and gravel.

Dorian's hand lowered toward Hiei's face, a maliciousness splitting his mouth open into a toothy, threatening smile. His dark eyes glimmered. The world existed only between the two of them, charged air cycling around them as the seconds somehow stretched to impossible lengths. Everything was slower, nearly still. Hiei focused on his attacker, on the intent behind that open palm. His intestines recoiled against whatever that looming contact might mean. Instincts spit words through his brain. _Danger. Pain. Death._ He trusted those feelings, that intention, and he resigned himself to playing coward so he could come out the victor.

That's the moment when Hiei let fly a handful of dirt right into Dorian's face. The demon sputtered and yelled, yanking himself off the smaller man as he tried to fish the dust and tiny rocks out of his eyes. Hiei took that moment to flip himself up to his feet, landing assuredly as Dorian turned toward him with a shroud of palpable hatred coating his aura. It rustled around him like a living thing.

"You." Dorian stalked one step toward Hiei who refused to back down. "I'm going to ruin you."

Hiei's narrowed eyes dared him to try. The shorter of the two rushed forward, landing one solid hit to a pair of heaving ribs before his arm was captured, twisted, and he was sent rolling over the uneven ground. The crunch of a single footfall warned Hiei that Dorian was coming toward him, so he pushed himself up quickly, not caring that his palms were cut open when he spun on his hands. Pain was irrelevant. His eyes widened for a second before he allowed himself to laugh.

" _I was beginning to think you_ _'d lost your will to fight_." Hiei teased Kurama, who stood between Dorian and Hiei wielding a length of rope.

" _More experience lends itself to taking more breaks my friend._ _"_ Kurama offered back, eyes on their opponent, voice light despite the circumstances. " _Just like old times?_ "

Hiei nodded, coming up to Kurama side. Dorian eyed the pair of them, sweeping his dark and ill-intended gaze over their forms. His styled hair was now mussed, sticking up in places it shouldn't and coated with a fine film of dust. His suit, immaculate when he'd stepped onto the property, now bore several gashes and holes courtesy of Hiei's deft performance with a blade. His shined shoes were dirty and scuffed. And his arranged features, previously taunting and smug, were now twisted in seething anger.

"Great. Two of you." Dorian spit, flicking his attention to Victoria who was just managing to pull herself from the ground.

Hobbling she joined the pair, flanking Kurama's empty side, gun recovered and held at her side. She too was covered in dirt, it smeared over her arms and face and clothing. Her sunken, exhausted eyes, wouldn't leave the demon's form. Even though she shook slightly, trembling from the effort of movement and keeping conscious, she remained. Blood dribbled down her cheek from where a rock had scraped her face when Hiei threw her back. Her eyes were agitated and the whites were red from the dust on the ground.

"Three." She told him in no uncertain tone. "Get lost Dorian."

"Darling, do you really think you of all people has any power over me? Look at you. You're barely standing. And these two little menaces of yours might be clever and fast and hungry, but they are still nothing." Dorian drawled. "Just give up, Victoria."

She merely stared at him.

After a heartbeat she shrugged uselessly. "Have it your way sweetheart."

Hiei found his knife, scooping it up on a swift movement as he lunged forward. Kurama rounded the demon's other side, lashing out with the rope in a poor imitation of the lightweight whip he'd grown accustomed to utilizing. Dorian was forced to step back from Kurama assault which allowed Hiei to get in close, slicing a line from the man's back around to his navel. Dorian shoved Hiei back with a fist to the nose, only to find Kurama's rope around his neck. Victoria staggered forward, gun raised and aimed at Dorian's forehead.

"ENOUGH!" The demon bellowed the words and all three of them were thrust back by an invisible wall of power.

The force of his frustration and rage thrust them back to their side of the protective barrier Victoria had raised. All three of them rose as the sound of gravel crunching caught on the breeze. Dorian froze, staring with narrowed eyes as he toed the line that had proverbially been drawn.

"I think it's time you go, Dorian." Grams stood just before him, no smile, no sass, no kindness. Vanessa hovered on the front steps, bathed in the light of the house, her eyes wide with fear, her hands trembling as they gripped a baseball bat too tightly.

Dorian didn't speak, but he also didn't move. Grams took a step forward, willingly crossing the barrier. Kurama's mouth fell agape, some warning caught in his throat and refusing to slip to his tongue as though the words knew they weren't needed. Hiei felt a sense of vindication that the fox was finally seeing what he'd been seeing all along. Grams' aura smothered over Dorian's. Her small stature the only diminutive thing about her in that moment as her presence swelled. Victoria watched too, though she look far less surprised and impressed than the two men rising sitting around her.

She knew that look in Grams' eye. That sheen of anger.

She was in so much trouble. Part of her almost wished Dorian _had_ seriously hurt her, because at least then she could play the pity card and Grams wouldn't be able to yell at her too much. Sighing she readied herself for the tongue lashing she was about to receive.

To everyone but Victoria's immense surprise Dorian took three quick steps back to keep space between himself and the wizened old woman with her cropped silver hair and her embedded laugh lines framing her mouth, her eyes.

"This isn't done. I want to know why you were between worlds darling Victoria, and I will find out. I felt the tear and I'm not happy about it. I hope you aren't back to dabbling with powers you have no hope of wielding." Dorian took his eyes from Grams to narrow on Victoria. Then his attention skirted over Hiei and Kurama, who offered their own calculating cold glares in return. "Those two are interesting but they're no prize to keep. They aren't what I'm looking for."

Then he was gone just as suddenly as he came. With his absence came the rush of sound that always hurried to fill the vacuum his sudden disappearances created. When the crickets began to chirp once more, Victoria allowed herself to fall to the ground gently so she could close her eyes as exhaustion swept over her. She also didn't want to see the mean look Grams was most definitely casting her way.

"Victoria Priscilla Delaney you get up right this instant look me in the eye." Grams demanded, marching over to her granddaughter who offered a drawn out pained groan in response. "Right now young lady!"

Hiei and Kurama both startled at the sharp tone from the normally gentle woman. They exchanged a look, Kurama feeling as though he were being scolded by his own sweet mother and Hiei feel relieved he wasn't the one being shouted at by the old woman.

"Grams." Victoria didn't open her eyes, didn't move. "Can you not right now?"

"Girl, I swear if you don't get up this instant I will _get you up_."

"So, boys, let's get you cleaned up." Vanessa called, fidgeting with her bat as she tried to draw the two men inside.

Hiei shook his head, intent on watching this shit show play out. Kurama hesitated because truthfully he had rope burn on his palms and he would have liked to clean them up but he also didn't want to not see this because he had a feeling it was important. Vanessa sighed heavily then shook her head and went back into the house closing the door.

" _Were you talking to Dorian by the way? I thought I heard your voice._ _"_ Kurama tipped his head toward Hiei and spoke quietly so he did not draw the palpable ire of Grams' attention.

" _How could I have been? He only spoke in English._ _"_ Hiei straight up lied to his closest friend without so much as a tell.

He would _not_ allow Kurama to find out he could replicate this stupid language. He refused, ardently. He especially wouldn't allow the redhead to find out while they were within ear shot of those two nosy ass women who most definitely would never allow him another moment of peace. How strange, he thought, that the only being in the world he could trust with this secret was a five year old.

What had his life become?

Kurama eyed him that patented scrutiny of his before turning his attention back toward the two women locked in a stalemate match of stubbornness. In words he had heard Grams use before he noted that Victoria got it honest. There was no denying their relation when they mirrored each other so perfectly right now. He sighed. Victoria had yet to move from her assumed post on the ground, laying prone like a child mid-tantrum.

"Do you really want your friends to see you get yelled at?" Grams demanded hotly, arms crossed over her middle.

"Does it matter what I want?" Victoria snapped back at her grandmother in an unusually heated tone. She jerked herself up to sitting with an angry look.

"You're being a brat." Grams told her.

Victoria inhaled through her nose and then huffed the breath out. She glared away from her grandmother, sulking. "Just yell at me already Grams. I'm tired. I want to go bed and forget today ever fucking happened."

"You should have told me he was back. You know he's a weak spot for you! You get so in your head whenever he's around, Victoria. Do you even realize how dangerous he actually is? He can and will kill you!"

"I'm more than fucking aware of Dorian's danger rating, thank you very much. Out of the two of us, I think I'm more the expert on him than you are. I'm the one he's been haunting. You only get to see the fringe of it all. I'm the one he attacks and traps and degrades!" Victoria got to her feet. "Don't come at me over this, Grams."

"You should have asked for my help! Maybe this could have been prevented if-"

"I'm so sorry I'm not perfect like you!" Victoria threw her hands up in the air, tears stinging her eyes. "I'm sorry I don't have your innate power. I'm sorry I don't have your unreal patience and your skills and I'm sorry I'm the fuck up who got herself a stupid demon stalker. I get it. I'm a disappoint in this department, I don't need you out here yelling at me about it, okay? I already know."

"Victoria." Grams deflated then, frowning. "You know-"

"I get it." Victoria cut her off, angrily wiping the hot tears from her cheeks with a sniffle. "Sometimes I wish he had been able to save mom so that you wouldn't have to deal with me anymore. I hate this as much you do, but I'm trying, okay? I'm trying to survive this and I'm trying to get stronger and I'm trying to make it work. I'm so sorry my efforts aren't up to your standards. Goddammit why am I crying! I don't want to cry over this. This is so fucking stupid."

Victoria continued to wipe at her face, sneering the whole time. Kurama's eyebrows rose high onto his forehead and he glanced to Hiei who suddenly looked incredibly uncomfortable. Tears always had that effect on Hiei. Those sorts of outward displays of intense emotions made the man nervous and mildly disgusted.

" _I should have gone inside._ " Hiei muttered, glaring away from the pair of women then.

Grams walked over and despite Victoria's fussing about it, she wrapped her arms around her granddaughter and held her tightly. Victoria's tears came more heavily despite her doing her best to stop them. Grams rubbed her back and murmured a few soft words.

"I just wish you had told me." Grams offered gently. "You are incredibly strong, honey, I know that. I know how hard you work. But Dorian isn't like the other things you have to deal with and I get so worried whenever you have to deal with him."

Victoria reluctantly returned the hug then after a second she held her grandmother tightly, eyes closed.

"I just want to help you. Let me support you honey, that's what I'm here for." Grams reminded Victoria gently. "Let's go inside so you can tell me what's been happening and I'll see if there's any way I can help."

"Okay." Victoria nodded. She bent down to pick her disregarded gun from the ground immediately flicking the safety on and pulling the magazine free before emptying the chamber. She didn't store her guns loaded even when she lived alone. She definitely wouldn't start doing it while Ashland was in the house.

Or Hiei for that matter. Sure, he was a grown man but his penchant for curiosity would definitely get him killed if he messed with a weapon with no idea how it worked. She'd actually started storing the bullets and magazine separately from the gun itself. She used to keep them both in the same case when it was just her because she knew how to handle the gun and she knew not to be a dumb ass. Now that she had roommates she took more precautions than ever. No one in that house was going to hurt themselves on her watch, accidentally or on purpose.

"Let's get going." Victoria nodded toward the house looking at the men who rose under her soft command.

Kurama and Hiei filed into the house after Grams. Victoria took an extra moment on the front steps to assess her property. She'd need to dig up her protection jars first thing in the morning and revitalize them. That was definitely something Grams could assist with. Maybe the boys could help too. More hands made less work after all and they should be complicit in their own safety.

The night wore on until the dawn burned Victoria's eyes as she sat on the back porch rocking in a chair. Hiei had long before passed out on the cushions next to Ashland, Hank the dog laying on the child's other side. Kurama fell asleep sitting up, leaning against the arm of the couch. Vanessa had coiled herself into the armchair, snoring slightly from her head being tucked so awkwardly. Grams had fallen asleep in the rocking chair beside Victoria, their conversation over a few hours before, then the woman had awoken to take herself home for a spell. Now, Victoria was out here alone. Blue eyes stared out over the backyard, studying the fog on the lake as the sky turned from black to a deep blue and then eased its way into hot orange and striking pink. The ducks on the water paddled with indifference moving in their easy lines.

Her limbs felt heavy, her body felt weak, her eyes hurt and her chest ached. It was uncomfortable to be alive, but there she was, just living anyway. A small band-aid covered the neosporin slicked cut on her cheek. Her shirt covered her bruised ribs. With tired fingers she traced the lines tattooed against her throat, Dorian's hand print etched into her skin.

A heavy splash broke the water's surface and she saw the head of the kappa—who she'd named Abraham—pop up, those dark eyes staring at her. Seemed like a trip to the grocery store would be in order sooner rather than later. Maybe she had acted rashly, keeping the damn thing alive, but it felt sort of wrong to kill it. Plus she wasn't actually sure how to go about such a feat. Everything she'd done had been on instinct. Wasn't there a myth about making the kappa bow and it's bowl would empty? It seemed sort of cruel to exploit polite behavior that way. She'd pick Kurama's bed about it later. For now, though, what was done was done.

With a deep breath she relaxed in her seat. It had been a hellish day, hadn't it? That awful experience between the planes. Alice. Abraham and his attack on Ashland. Then Dorian and Grams and everything had just been so terrible for so many hours it felt like an eternity had already passed around her. And yet…

Victoria rocked forward in the chair to rise to her feet with a wince. Her hip hurt from being thrown to the ground. It would take her at least a few days to get back to normal, if not longer. She was not looking forward to that recovery process. Ugh. Life. Quietly she peeled open the back door then the screen beyond it, stepping into the house. The curtains dampened the burgeoning sunlight, muting it but still she could make out each of the faces in her living room. The drool wetting the corner of Vanessa's mouth and thus the cushion she cradled under her head. Kurama's serene features as though he weren't sleeping in what had to be an incredibly uncomfortable position. His back would definitely be sore when he woke up. His palms were bandaged, also coated in neosporin to help the rope burns heal faster. Grams had insisted. Hiei slept soundly, a scowl on his face, Ashland curled against his chest, her blonde curls tucked under his chin. They were like two cats, one old and gruff and the other a kitten fresh to the family.

This is what survived the day with her, these people. Hank lifted his head from the couch cushions, his tail wagging slowly. Victoria smiled at him and nodded toward the stairs. The dog stretched himself off the makeshift bed and then trotted to the stairs, arriving just as Victoria did. She patted his head and started up the stairs, pausing midway to smile at her little makeshift band of idiots.

It had been such an awful day. One for the record books.

But everything that mattered had made it through to dawn.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: I did it! I managed to pull out a chapter on time! Sweet mercy me, I** **'m so happy. This one is a lot more light-hearted than the previous two. The fanfic mentioned towards the end of this chapter is a real life fanfiction by the amazing Star Charter. It's her fic 'Scooby-Doo Where Are Yu-Yu?' and it is totally worth the read. It's short, funny, and definitely the best written crackfic I've read in a long ass time. I'm not sorry for recommending it and if you read it, please let her know that you enjoyed it.**

* * *

The lake house's central air was doing its best work, spilling cool air into the living room to combat the upper nineties before humidity that raged outside the walls. Even still, the three occupants drank their tea iced, wore shorts and short-sleeved shirts. Hunks of citrine, obsidian, and rose quartz lined the window sills, casting shadows against the pulled curtains. Bundles of cinnamon sticks, birch twigs, dried basil, lavender sprigs, and sage leaves were wrapped in black yarn and tied to the door knobs so that they hung on the outside of the doors. Black salt lined the doorways on the inside, and also the windowsills for an added layer of protection. Victoria, in rare form, sat with her fingers layered in rings of various stones set in an array of metals. Around her neck she wore her protective necklace.

Hiei occupied the easy chair, eyes closed and hands folded on his stomach as he dozed idly. His legs were cast over one of the arms. He looked like the poster child for "Lazy Sunday" even though it wasn't Sunday and he was probably the most active member of the household. Victoria often questioned how he found the energy to do his morning and evening runs on top of his side hustle and the fact he turned anything he could into weight lifting equipment. She'd found him doing leg presses with her couch just two days prior, the edge of the long end of the couch balance on his feet. At this point, she wasn't even invested in correcting him on such behavior so long as he didn't break anything.

A green bandaid carved a jarring line across Victoria's forehead, the bandage covering the special salve Grams had made for her to wear over the spot Dorian had kissed on her months ago. It was meant to penetrate and undo whatever sadistic marking he'd left on her. Victoria didn't feel particularly different, but she went through the motions anyway. It made Grams feel better. Kurama sat at her side his eyes glued to the television which demanded both their attentions.

"Is he seriously going to continue trust this Wong woman? How did she even get into the secured facility? Why hasn't he questioned that?" Kurama complained, gesturing toward the screen. "Is he foolish?"

"Historically? Yes. Very." Victoria acknowledged. "Ada Wong is Leon's stupid blind spot. I don't get it. I mean, she screams untrustworthy to me. I think it's the heels and sunglasses."

Hiei cracked one eye open to glance her way with a scowl at the mention of sunglasses. Victoria happened to catch the look and she rolled her eyes.

"Not that sunglasses mean someone is inherently not to be trusted." She tacked on. Hiei went back to his nap. "But who wears a dress and heels during a zombie outbreak? You can't seduce a zombie."

"Apparently it's tactical attire meant to ensnare stupid police officers." Kurama pointed out.

"Can't blame a rookie for wanting some nookie." Victoria sighed. "I think we're coming up to the end game- _Fuck._ Is that Birkin? I hate this guy! Die already! How many times am I going to have to teach you this lesson old man?!"

"At least it's not that leather wearing menace." Kurama offered.

"Mr. X is the worst and that's a hill I'm more than willing to die on."

"Video games have improved drastically in quality in this world. The graphics alone are mind-boggling. The fact you can play with a controller that isn't attached via wire is something else all together. You can just pull games from the _internet_ onto your _home console_ and then play them back on the same internet with friends you've never met. Miraculous." The redhead leaned forward to study the screen in awe. "There is so much detail."

"I love how much you appreciate things K-drama. It makes me appreciate them too."

" _Can you two shut up and turn that off already? I want to watch Game of Thrones. I want to see what Khaleesi and the Lannister woman do next._ _"_ Hiei's eyes remained closed as he spoke, his languid posture remaining intact despite his harsh tone. _"Do you think those dragons will come here? Seems odd they haven't already. This place seems week and ripe for the taking._ "

" _Hiei I told you, it_ _'s a fictional show. They aren't real._ " Kurama sighed heavily.

" _Neither were we until some months ago."_

Kurama didn't have a response for that, so he just clamped his mouth shut and inhaled sharply. Assessing Hiei offered few clues into whether or not the shorter man was being serious.

"Hiei wants to watch Game of Thrones." Kurama announced instead.

"I'm going to go with a big ole no on that front K-dawg. The last time he binged that show I came home from a job to a bonfire in my yard and had to stop him from testing whether or not fire could burn a dragon."

" _It was just a theory._ " Hiei remarked lazily.

"I want to finish this campaign so I can start Claire's." Victoria pointedly ignored Hiei and his remarks, instead focusing on this last leg of her gaming session. "I've heard she's highly relatable."

"Claire being the blonde from the beginning? The one who was obviously flirting with Leon?" Kurama asked and when he received confirmation, he nodded. "I liked her. She is a playable character then?"

"Hell yeah she is."

"I'm looking forward to that."

"Do you want to play some? You haven't asked." Victoria paused the game setting her controller down on her lap so she could stretch her arms above her head. She twisted to pop her back and Kurama pulled a face that betrayed his dislike of the sound of her spine crackling like bubble wrap.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah man, I'll create a profile for you. I want you to have a good time but I don't want you saving over my game. That'll mean immediate exile." She shrugged as she got to her feet. "It's time for a break though."

Hiei heard the word break and swung himself to his feet, marching over to swipe the remote from the living room table. He switched inputs and immediately dove into the on-demand service so he could watch his shows. Victoria sort of regretted showing him to operate the TV, as it tended to give him ideas, but she couldn't deny it also kept him occupied.

Living with Hiei was like living with a willful toddler sometimes. And like any tired parent, when she needed a break, she parked him in front of the TV.

Kurama pulled himself from the couch to follow Victoria as she wandered toward the kitchen.

"Today is definitely a self-care sort of day." She leaned into the fridge to examine it's contents. "But it is also very much so a _lazy_ day. What to do?"

"I had a question." Kurama rested against the bar counter between stools, his elbows supporting him as he watched her rummage.

"Is it about lunch, because if so I don't have an answer. I'm thinking about ordering a pizza." Blue eyes glanced at the back of Hiei's spiky haired head. "Or three."

"No, it's not about lunch."

"It's too hot to cook right? I mean, I think it's way too hot. But we gotta eat." She straightened and put her hands on her hips. "I think pizza is the right call."

"Pizza sounds good." Kurama frowned despite his agreement. "Victoria, about my question."

He noticed that she glanced at him then away quickly.

"What do you want on your pizza?" She asked instead of acknowledging his second request. "We should all get our own, right? That way the human trashcan over there doesn't have to share his food and neither do we."

Hiei flipped her off over the back of the couch, not bothering to turn around.

"I'll decide in a moment." Kurama informed her. "Why are you being so evasive?"

"Am I?" She still wouldn't quite look at him.

"Quite."

"I don't want to talk about the other day, Kurama. Don't ask me." She leveled him with a look that spoke of her immense exhaustion. She'd avoided talking about the Dorian incident and her walk between planes as much as possible. When Kurama had asked her the day before how she was feeling she'd told him she was fine and not to ask her again for a while.

But that's when she'd put the salt lines down and situated the bundles of herbs and lined up the rocks on her windowsills.

Grams had said it was all basically a protective filtering system for Victoria. She was depleted of her natural energy, as Hiei had suggested, and therefore was far more susceptible to the aspects of her life she'd been able to keep at bay. Emotions, in particular, hit her harder. And negative energy made her queasy. The outside world was full of both so Victoria hadn't bothered leaving the house since. Well, except to feed _Abraham_. That _was_ a conversation Kurama wanted to have with her, now that he was reminded, because naming a damn kappa and keeping like a pet simply was not going to end well for anyone.

"It's not about the other day." Kurama told her instead of starting that particular fight. "It's about something I came across on Tumblr."

"I can't believe you use that hellsite." Victoria sighed, her caution gone the way it came. Within seconds she was back to herself, offering Kurama a wry grin and a shake of her head. "What did you learn?"

"Well. It's about these _memes_ I've been seeing." Kurama always over emphasized the word memes and it always made Victoria smile. He slowed down when he said it, the word a little slippery for his tongue. "I thought the US was predominantly a monotheistic country. Christian majority."

"I mean, that used to be true. We actually have a lot of religions here. That's sort of the part of the whole shtick." She explained with a hand gesture. "Why are we discussing the religious melting pot of this country though?"

"Well. I was wondering, because in my world, things were different. I've seen a lot of lauding of this new god recently and I'm curious as to when he became prominent. I've never heard of him before."

"New god?"

"Yes. Well, new to me at least. You're likely far more familiar with him. This Shaggy creature." Kurama tipped his head to the side as Victoria stared at him. Her palm flew up to her face, and she hid behind her fingers for a long second. "What?"

"Shaggy isn't actually a god, Kurama." She spoke slowly trying to keep her laughter contained. It was good that Kurama came to her with these questions so he could gather a deeper understanding of the world he was apart of, she had to keep reminding herself that. Didn't mean stopped being fucking hilarious though. Just…she had to be careful how she responded. She didn't want him to stop coming to her. "Someone just took still shots from cast interviews of a pretty roughly done live action movie based on a cartoon from the 60s based on a mystery solving crew and their talking dog."

Kurama stared at her, then looked at Hiei, back to her, then to Hank who lay by the back door. His eyes flicked to her once again, settling there. Victoria saw the gears spinning behind his large green eyes. He was making connections and that was also hilarious. Her smile was hard to fight, and she was certain he saw it.

"To be clear, dogs do not in fact talk in this world, correct?"

"Correct Kurama."

He nodded. "Why would someone take the time to do this? Is the movie recent?"

"No, it's like fifteen years old."

"People in your time are so strange. They do the most unusual things for hobbies." He rolled his eyes.

"It's a form of escapism. My generation is one stressful day away from collectively leaving their bodies to return the void." Victoria explained. She received a dull stare from him like she always did when she used such strong hyperbole. "Relax foxy grandpa."

"I am not a grandfather."

"You literally just pulled a 'kids these days' on me. That's a very grandpa thing to say." She pointed out. "I don't make the rules dude. Might as well get yourself a pair of reading glasses and a plethora of ugly wool sweaters to go with your endless supply of high waisted khakis."

He frowned at her. "I'll take a vegetable pizza."

"Now whose being evasive." She pointed at him with a grin. "Veggie it is. Hiei! What kinda pizza do you want homeboy?"

Hiei, once summoned by the word pizza, spun on the couch so he was sitting on his knees on the cushions after pausing the episode he was watching. He faced the kitchen. _Spicy chicken. Like last time._

"Buffalo chicken for Homeboy McSkillet. Veggie for K-drama. And I'll go with that sweet ass classic, extra pepperoni extra cheese." Victoria nodded and pulled out her phone. Hiei snapped his fingers to get her attention as she lifted it to her ear.

 _Wings. Barbecue. No celery. Garlic bread. The cheese kind._

"Are you paying or something?" Victoria demanded of him.

He glared at her, then got off the couch to go up the stairs. She rolled her eyes and started putting in their order. She ordered a second order of cheesy garlic bread for herself when Hiei reappeared from the top floor to throw a few twenties at her. He threw himself back onto the couch and resumed his show.

"Hey, is this for everyone or just you?" She asked him. When he didn't answer she pocketed the money and finished their order. Given that it would be about an hour before the food arrived she made up her mind.

While Hiei used up his sanctioned screen time for the day, allowing for a decent break from the video game, Victoria decided to refresh her hair. Lifting the purple out proved to be more stubborn than she'd figured. It really wanted to stay but her roots were too grown out and the color had lived on her scalp for too long. She wanted something fresh, new. After all, when faced with a life altering event you have no power to control the best path was always to change your hair as drastically as possible. So she shaved the sides down to a trim half-inch, trimmed her ends, and picked out her new color. Hair wrapped in a plastic cap, green band aid replaced with a neon blue one, Victoria ran down the stairs.

She made her way into the kitchen and began pulling things from her fridge. If she was going to sit there for thirty minutes letting the color process she would multitask with a face mask. Yogurt, honey, and peach. It would be so nice to feel refreshed for once. As she blended everything together in her food processor, Kurama came in from the backyard.

"I fed _Abraham_." He ground out the name with obvious annoyance. "I wanted to speak to you at some point about that reckless decision, by the way."

"You don't like the name?" She asked, knowing full well that he hated that she had given the kappa a name at all.

It was just fun to annoy him sometimes.

"I don't like that you've adopted a water spirit like it was a stray dog."

"Yeah. I know. It was sort of an in the moment decision. You know. From when I saved Ashland and Hiei and ripped _its fucking arm off_. You were there."

Kurama's strangled inward scream birthed a toothy smile from her. "What are you making? Is that a smoothie?"

"Oh. I mean. I guess it could be." She hadn't thought about that.

"Then what it is it? It smells good."

"It's a face mask." She explained. "It's good for your skin. Helps you feel nice and refreshed. I figured I could put one on while I waited for my hair to be done."

"Ah, yes. What are you doing to your hair?" He questioned. "I've never seen you wear that shower cap before."

"It's a processing cap. I'm recoloring it." Victoria explained. "I decided to change things up."

"You do that yourself?" His eyes widened. "I'm impressed. Shizuru went to school for that, you know. I didn't realize it was so easy."

"She could probably do it way better than I can. I just don't like paying someone else to do my hair. It gets pricey." After a heartbeat Victoria added. "When you get back home, tell her stories about me and my wild hair. I'd like to think she would appreciate my taste."

"Taste is a strong word."

"You can still end up homeless, you know that right?"

"May I join you for this face mask?" He switched the subject with a cheeky grin, gesturing to the mixture she was scooping into a bowl. The absence of sound from the TV brought both of their attention to Hiei, who approached them with curiosity.

" _Seems like a strange mask."_ Hiei commented to Kurama. _"I doubt it would really conceal your features at all._ "

" _I think it_ _'s meant to be a beauty treatment, actually."_

Hiei raised his eyebrow and then rolled his eyes. " _Of course you_ _'d want to partake then._ "

"You want to do one too?" Victoria asked Hiei. "It'll feel good. If your skin looks nice I bet the aunties will tip you more."

Hiei weighed the suggestion of more money in his pocket against the fact that Victoria was obviously trying to goad him into doing something that would make him look stupid. In the end his desire for cash won out, so he nodded. There was a pair of sunglasses he wanted to buy and they were actually fairly expensive. Victoria refused to allow him into the store without money ever since he'd suggested he could just steal them and save everyone the trouble. Apparently her not wanting to be banned from the mall meant more than his happiness, but whatever.

So, within a few minutes the three of them were back in the living room with the creamy, peach-scented substance slathered over their faces and necks. Victoria sat on the back of the couch behind Kurama, brushing his hair back and working it into a messy bun to sit atop his head so that the mask wouldn't get into his locks. Her work was slow because she kept stopping to take selfies with Kurama, and pictures of Hiei. She used just about every cute filter she could find on Snapchat, saving each photo to her gallery. Hiei's own hair was held away from his face by two hair clips. He'd taken to keeping it relatively short, though it still spiked wildly. Victoria wasn't opposed to the change actually. With his hair no longer at mind boggling heights, like some sort of drag Mrs. Frankenstein, Hiei's strong bone structure shone through.

She could practically hear the tormented sighs of fan girls across the entirety of the globe. It made her chuckle.

"What's so funny?" Kurama asked her. "Is there something in my hair?"

"Oddly no. I expected to find a few seeds, but nothing. There goes that theory." Victoria told him, amused. "Your hair is insanely thick, did you know that? Like. Dense thick. How do you not die in the heat?"

"It has been getting a little bothersome." He admitted. "I've considered cutting it down, but without a firm time line of when we'll be leaving, it's hard to go through with it. It would take forever to grow this back out."

"Didn't your hair grow like, fourteen inches in a year?" She asked him, trying to recall the tricky time line of the series.

"An exaggeration." He assured her.

There was a knock at the door and the three of them all stiffened. Hiei glanced to Victoria, who had frozen in place. Kurama's head was obviously forgotten as she stared at the door. When another set of knocks sounded, she jumped.

"We ordered pizza." She muttered under her breath, and swallowed. "That's right."

Kurama glanced behind him to eye her, saw the distress on her face, and then rose from his seat. He carried himself to the door and pulled it open. The teenager on the other side gaped at him, half-turned as though he were about to leave. A running car sat in the driveway, windows down. Even sitting still the thing made a bit of a racket. The boy swept his eyes down Kurama and then pulled them back up far more slowly. His cheeks burned a bright pink.

"Pizza?" He asked, awkwardly.

It was at that moment Kurama remembered he had his hair thrown up into a bun and a mask slapped onto his face.

"I'm not a woman, just so you know." Kurama stated in a rush, holding his hands up.

The boy's blush deepened. Victoria sidled up behind the redhead and extended a handful of money to the poor delivery boy. In a barely hushed tone she said, "I don't think he cares that you're a man, Kurama."

"Kurama. That's a cool name." The kid bobbed his head, glanced at Victoria, did some obvious mental calculus and then went on to offer a wide smile. "I'm Brett."

"Nice to meet you. The food?" Kurama loosely waved to the red thermal bag Brett the Delivery Boy carried. The bag which harbored their food. The same bag which would hopefully, once emptied, end this awkward moment for everyone.

"Oh! Right!" Brett pulled open the bag with the ripping sound of velcro filling the stifling heat. He extended the large amount of food.

When Kurama accepted the loud he was more than away that the kid brushed his fingers.

"Keep the change." Victoria told Brett with a smile that said she knew exactly what had just happened and she was endlessly amused by it.

"Right. Thanks for the tip. Bye Kurama." Brett rushed to his car and threw his empty carry bag inside before him.

"What the ever-loving _fuck_ was that?" Kurama demanded as Victoria closed the door behind him.

Hiei grabbed his buffet of food and walked it all over to the living room table. He didn't seem at all concerned about the sudden uncouth language Kurama dropped. Victoria however, paused and gaped at him.

"I don't think I've ever heard you say fuck before. Have I? I don't think I have. That was amazing. Say it again."

"Hardly the conversation I want to have at the moment, Victoria. What was that?" He gestured to the door, confusion wrinkling his drying face mask.

"It was a teenage boy getting a hard-on for you." She explained.

The sheer perplexity on Kurama's face, his mouth opening then closing a few times, eyes squinting as his thoughts surged was too much for Victoria to handle. She began laughing and couldn't stop. The stress of the last few days had mounted and coiled her emotions too tightly. This snapped them entirely, allowing a floodgate to spill open. She slowly lowered herself to the ground, tears pouring down her cheeks. A clump of her face mask came loose, plopping onto the floor, and that only deepened her hysterical fit. Wheezing, she tried to catch her breath but when Kurama looked down at her, she lost it again, waving for him to back away from her. Kurama heeded her silent demand and took the remaining food to the kitchen, setting the boxes on the bar counter. He began eating his veggie pizza while he waited for this fit to pass.

It shouldn't have been that funny.

But it was suddenly was the funniest thing in the world.

After several more minutes of tears, a little drool, a lot of not breathing, and desperate attempts at straightening herself out, Victoria managed to calm herself down. The mask was pretty ruined, running down her neck and cheeks and staining her shirt. The oven timer buzzed loudly, announcing it was time for her to rinse her hair. She couldn't even find the will to get off the floor though.

"Could you turn that off for me?" She begged Kurama with a dizzy smile. "I'm lightheaded. My sides hurt. My god, I needed that."

"I don't understand what was so funny." He responded from the kitchen. "If he knew I wasn't a woman then-"

" _He_ _'s fucking gay, Kurama. Keep up."_ Hiei managed to say before delving back into his chicken wings. Barbecue smeared over his yogurt coated cheeks, his hands caked with sauce. " _Don_ _'t be homophobic."_

"How am I being homophobic?! I'm just asking a question!" Kurama demanded, marching over to snap at Hiei. Victoria could hardly stand to look at the two of them, drying face masks cracking on the edges as they stared at each other. Kurama looked like a distraught housewife, hands on his hips as he hinged forward to fuss at Hiei. Hiei looked like his hapless husband, not particularly caring about the topic but trying his best to look Kurama in the face while being scolded. His attention kept wandering back to his food. "And where did all this knowledge of yours come from all of the sudden?"

Hiei nodded toward the TV.

"Oh great." Kurama tossed his hands in the air. "I really am a grandpa."

" _Obviously_." Hiei muttered. Kurama glared at him.

"It's fine, Kurama. But hey, at least he thought you were hot as a man. That's something right? And he saw you like that," Victoria flapped her hand to indicate his entire state of appearance. "You're a real heartthrob."

"I know you're picking on me, but it is actually nice. To this day men still mistake me for a woman. Even some women do." Kurama held his plate of pizza as he spoke. "I'm not sure I'm flattered though. I mean, he is just a boy."

"Yeah. It's good you're into bedding down kids. But I have a feeling the next time we call in a pizza order, _Brett_ will be the one to rush on over here."

"Can't blame a rookie for wanting some nookie, isn't that what you said earlier?" Kurama asked Victoria who was climbing to her feet.

"I have to go wash my hair." Victoria couldn't look at him or she knew she'd just be down on the ground once again, gasping for air and choking on her own laughter-induced tears. "I'll see you fools after my shower."

"Don't scream when you see your reflection." Kurama advised in humored tone. "You look like a melted ice cream cone."

"Hey, fuck you too buddy."

* * *

"Still hungry, Hiei?" Vanessa eyed the shorter man as he sat in his easy chair, one knee pulled up so he could lean his elbow on it. His other foot didn't even touch the floor, which was good given the space surrounding the chair was covered with scattered, empty boxes and used napkins. The war zone depicted an epic lunch.

He shot Vanessa a dirty look. She had picked up on the fact that despite putting away enough food to supply a small village at any given moment, Hiei was actually a little sensitive about his appetite.

"Hiei, clean up you mess. I'm not a fucking maid." Victoria raced down the stairs, the words flying from her mouth without malice.

Hiei gestured that he'd do it after a nap.

"Now! You're going to attract flies. And also, Hank can't eat any of that. Put it in the trash outside." She shooed him, earning a grumble but reluctant compliance.

"You changed your hair." Vanessa reached over and brushed her fingertips through the teal strands. "I like it. You did better with the sides this time."

"I watched a tutorial." Victoria admitted with a laugh. The short hair underneath was a dark teal as were her roots. The longer strands on top of her head, pushed up and back from her face like a full-bodied and soft edged mohawk, faded from the darker color to nearly a sea-green at the ends. "Oh. So, these Shaggy memes are getting out of control. Kurama thought he was a legit deity."

"Don't let The Great Shaggy hear you dismiss him this way. He'll blink you from existence." Vanessa kept her expression serious with the dire warning. "It was nice knowing you. Oh! Speaking of weirdly topical Scooby stuff. I read that fanfic you sent me. It almost killed me, I hope you appreciate that. I almost died. You could have been implicated in my murder. Warn me before you do shit like that."

Victoria was too busy grinning like an idiot at her to be bothered by the near-miss.

"It's sort of disturbing how strangely accurate it seems right? Like, if it ever happened, that's _how_ it would happen?" Victoria pressed. "Just. Imagine." She grabbed Vanessa by the shoulders and spun her to face Kurama who was pouring himself a glass of tea in the kitchen. "Imagine him meeting Scooby-Doo, Nessie. That man, right there. Seducer of pizza boys. Handler of Hiei. Facing down a talking dog."

Kurama straightened and turned to stare at them both with raised eyebrows. "I'm sorry, my ears must be deceiving me, Victoria. I thought I just heard you say that you were reading one of those fictional, fan written stories about me?"

Blue eyes flashed wide, her mouth slamming closed. Vanessa leaned back into Victoria's hands as thought to press herself away from the leering redhead. Her brown eyes were saucers as well, her mouth forming shapes as though she was attempting to formulate a passable argument.

"You still read these fictional stories about us?" Kurama demanded. "After you specifically told me to avoid them? You said you only read them when we were fictional to you as well, but now we are real. Incredibly real. We live with you. You know, dear Victoria, in the house that you have to _fall asleep in at some point_."

"Okay, okay. Yeah, alright? I read one or two stories. They're addictive, okay? Sue me. And this one in particular is really fucking funny and I'm not sorry because it's so outlandish. It would never happen. But, I'll admit, I've actually pretty much tried to go cold turkey on the fic reading and fanart looking. Y'know. Out of respect." Victoria mounted her defense, though it seemed to have no effect on Kurama.

"You're absolutely unbelievable. How would you feel if I wrote and read stories about _you_ that you had no say in?"

"Honestly, a little flattered." Victoria admitted. "I mean, at first. But I could definitely see how that would get super weird crazy fast. Look. I promise it's not lewd or anything. It's a funny story about you meeting Scooby-Doo and being incredibly exasperated that his humans have no idea he's a talking demon."

He eyed her, misgiving written over his pressed lips. Victoria shifted and then sunk into her shoulders.

"Do you want to read it?" She asked with a wince.

Kurama slapped his palm to his face and took a moment to gather himself. He supposed, of all topics, this one was fairly benign. None of that romance material she'd claimed to read before they'd met. But no, he did not want to read it. Partly because it would feel incredibly weird to read about himself from the outside, but also a large part of him feared that Victoria had been truthful when she'd told Vanessa he'd been in character in the story. He wasn't sure he could handle knowing that there were authors out there who could accurately capture his personality and translate it to story form.

"No. I'd rather not." Kurama finally answered her. "Just. Please stop reading stories about us, Victoria."

"Yeah, okay." She nodded, sullenly. "Sorry Kurama."

"Did you know that Hot Topic is selling merch again?" Vanessa announced to the room and waited a breath for the response.

Victoria's brows pulled down, her mind running around that topic change, then her face snapped up to stare at her best friend, eyes alight and her seconds-before-scolding completely dismissed from her consciousness as though it had never happened. Kurama too reacted, pulling a face mildly alarmed confusion tinted with fear.

"WHAT?!" Victoria yelled, grabbing Vanessa by the shoulders and shaking her slightly. "Why haven't you linked me?! I gotta buy it. I mean. I _have_ to. Is it shirts? Figures? What is it? I've been waiting _so long_ for merch to reappear in the US! I hope it's shirts. Do you guys want shirts of yourselves?"

"No, thank you." Kurama shook his head, lamenting the fact his guilt tripping has such a short term effect. "Merch being short for merchandise, is that correct?"

"Hell yeah it is." Victoria walked over and raised his hand to slap her palm against his in a forced high-five. "Kurama, my man, I'm going to wear a shirt with your face on it."

"Please don't."

"It'll be hilarious! We can walk around town together." She pressed.

"Hilarious how?"

"Because no one will be even notice it's you!" Victoria declared. "Are you kidding me?! Not a single person has yet to comment on you or Hiei's appearances. Not one. You put pictures of yourself as your twitter and tumblr profile pics and no one has been like ' _Ha, convincing Kurama get up. Did you make it yourself?_ _'_ and I find that beautiful, so let me have this. It's like a secret only I know and the rest of the world doesn't realize it's waiting to hear it."

"You are one of the most deranged individuals I've ever met."

"Come on now. That's not nice."

"Wait, did you say Kurama seduced the pizza boy? Which one? Baby Brett or Human Hank?" Vanessa walked over to them, helped herself to a glass and the pitcher of sweet tea.

"Baby Brett." Victoria explained. "Poor kid didn't even know what hit him."

"Aww that's sort of cute. You know he's not out to his family? Maybe don't go too wild talking about his little crush." Vanessa explained with a wave of her hand. "You don't want to be that guy who accidentally outs someone."

"I did not know that. This will not leave this house." Victoria nodded sharply. "I forgot about his parents. Ugh. Hate them."

"Seriously hate them." Vanessa agreed. "I sort of want to adopt him. He's such a good kid."

After a moment of commiseration, Vanessa shook herself as though she'd just had a brilliant idea. Her attention moved to Kurama, her smile a warning of trouble to come. He eyed her with suspicion.

"Kurama if you want payback about the pizza boy thing and you know, Vick in general, I can show you guys something really cool. Relating, heavily, to Hot Topic." Vanessa offered.

"Do I even want to know? Also, what the hell is a Hot Topic? Is it a news site?" Kurama questioned, confused and annoyed. His freshly washed and moisturized skin looked dewy though, and Victoria a moment to appreciate that she was very good at making face masks and that he should be grateful for her, because part of her knew what was about to happen.

"Not at all. It's a store that sells CDs and vinyls and clothes and pop-culture stuff. It's every kid's first edgelord experience. Hiei would like it." Vanessa explained with that dangerous smile of her growing more and more telling. "In fact, Victoria used to shop there frequently during her edgy teen years."

Victoria, realizing what was about to happen as Vanessa pulled out her cell, pleaded. "Don't."

"In fact, one could say that you don't outgrow emo." Vanessa explained, turning that malicious grin to her best friend—soul sister really—without remorse.

"I'm an adult, Nessie. This has no power over me anymore. I'm a grown ass adult and I have real responsibilities and I listen to a variety of music now, and I wear a lot of colors." Victoria decided quickly begging wouldn't have any effect on the soulless fiend that was her semi-good friend. Acquaintance really. Vanessa was dead to her.

"Oh, okay. That's fine. I respect that." Vanessa's tone earned Hiei's attention, and he walked over to join them.

" _What are you doing?"_ Kurama asked him, surprised to see Hiei pull out a bar stool to perch on it's cushion.

" _I want to see this blackmail unfold_."

" _Of course you do._ " Kurama paused then offered a small grin. " _So do I._ _"_

They exchanged equally dubious expressions before turning to watch as Vanessa taunted Victoria.

"I won't do it." Victoria crossed her arms, the promise clear in her narrowed eyes. "I won't-" a song began to play and it appeared to Kurama and Hiei that some entity had possessed their roommate. As soon as the tune started Victoria threw herself into belting out the lyrics. " _Well if you wanted honesty-_ _"_

Dramatically she launched into pantomiming playing a guitar, bobbing her head. Suddenly, silence enveloped them as the song was cut off by Vanessa. As though a spell was broken, Victoria came back to her senses with a harsh glare.

"Get the fuck out of my house." She gestured to the door with a pointed finger.

Hiei braced himself for another display of her strange compulsive powers, watching carefully. Vanessa seemed unmoved by the command ringing clear in those sharp blue eyes. Was her fortitude so strong? Or was Victoria truly still so drained? He missed the subtext of Victoria not being serious in any form, the slight tug of a smile pulling at the corners of her mouth. So focused on the forest he could not see the trees.

In response to the command, Vanessa displayed another song on her phone's screen, wiggling the device with sadistic intention. Victoria stiffened, then softly uttered, "Don't."

Vanessa's thumb pressed play.

Once again, an unsettling force took control of Victoria's body as she sang, " _Oh, well imagine-_ _"_

A few bars into the song it was once again turned off, allowing Victoria time to breath and glare. Vanessa laughed at her. Hiei walked over and snatched the device from Vanessa's loose grip. He glanced at their teal-haired hostess, then he tapped a careful finger against the title of another song at random. To his immense satisfaction this time both Victoria and Vanessa appeared caught by this invisible force. They stared at each other in horrified expectation that melted quickly into mutual understanding. In one unified voice, after a few notes from a piano, they sang to each other.

" _When I was a young boy_ -"

Both women threw themselves into the song, serenading one another in off-pitch voices. Kurama walked over and plucked the phone from Hiei's rather tight hold, eyed his companion, then sighed and turned the music off but not before making a mental note of the song titles on the playlist so he could recreate it on his own Spotify account for future use, should the need ever arise. Or just for when he was feeling particularly spiteful.

"I hate you." Victoria muttered to her sister-from-another-mister. "I hate you so fucking much sometimes."

"Be nice to our boys." Vanessa told her flippantly. "They are now armed with your weakness honey."

"Indeed." Kurama agreed, his tone light, which only made it more frightening, because that gentle tone held a sharp edge of promise that Victoria, personally, did not want to receive.

Not for the first time she was pretty thankful that neither of the two men had access to their energies here because she was fairly certain at this point that she'd have been on the receiving end of more than one of Kurama's little pet plants. It made her a little nervous for the fact he had planted roses in her garden.


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: I** **'m managing to stick to this schedule and it feels good man. Between these chapters and Captivity I've started to work on the sequel to Survivor's Guilt. I want to have a good set of chapters prewritten before I begin posting so that in the event of another dip in my brain chemistry I'll still be able to post regularly. Hope you guys enjoy this!**

 **Also, for this chapter and in the playlist I just wanted to tell you that the song BASMF by 3OH!3 really captures the essence of Hiei** **'s character in my opinion. I just love the song and it amused me endlessly.**

* * *

The morning was hot by nine, the air already thick with humidity. The moisture turned Hiei's hair into an unmanaged mess, part of the reason he now kept it only a handful of inches long now. Out here in the yard of Caroline, another auntie he'd begun doing work for, he enjoyed the sunlight on his sunscreen slathered skin. He knew he'd still get tan lines from his black muscle shirt but he didn't particularly care. He'd eventually have to strip the shirt off anyway as he couldn't stand to be clothed too long in this oppressive heat which meant something to him. He'd literally walked through fire, had it coil around his arms. His natural body temperature was high enough to make ice ineffective as a weapon against him. Yet this place routinely bested his tolerance.

He did like this riding mower though. Victoria needed to buy one for him. It cut his work significantly and Caroline paid him the same. He parked the riding mower behind the house, covered it, and turned around to discover Auntie Caroline standing extreme close behind him. Hiei regarded her, taking a half step back. These women would make excellent assassins. She had bottle-dyed red hair cut into what Victoria called 'a bob'. Her makeup was decidedly not subtle, particularly her bright red lips and thick dark lashes which had not been nearly as prominent or long when he'd arrived. She looked him in the eye not out of assertiveness but because they were the exact same height.

"Drink, honey?" She smiled with a flirtatious bat of her lashes.

Hiei noted she had changed clothes while he'd been working, from a simple loose dress into form fitting jeans and a sleeveless white blouse. The absence of her bra struck him despite his effort not to notice. He shook his head and held up a hand to decline her drink. Last time he'd accepted one from her it had been laden with gin and he'd been a pink-cheeked sloppy mess when he'd gotten to the lake house, lipstick on his cheeks from where she'd affectionately kissed him before dropping him off. That was not a mistake he would be making again. These middle-aged women were the hungriest creatures he'd ever faced and that was saying something. Though they did make him feel at home. Having to keep sharp and stay a step of head of their tactics reminded him of Demon World.

The Aunties were a collective of some of the most dangerously conniving beings he had ever met. They stopped at nothing in their pursuit. Victoria described them all as 'thirsty bitches'. He had to agree, once Kurama explained that thirsty was a euphemism. His saving grace with most of the women was that they were actually married and had children and therefore couldn't act on their desires. The two exceptions of that pattern, and therefore his two most daunting foes, were Caroline and Susan.

One time they'd both been there when he'd arrived as Auntie Susan's home and he barely escaped their clutches. It had taken all of his tactical prowess, speed, and evasive charm. Somehow, he'd still ended up shirtless receiving a shoulder massage.

"You sure?" Caroline wiggled a bit, one arm going under her bosom to push it up.

Hiei glanced down then back up. Her shirt was incredibly sheer and the humidity wasn't helping. Part of him considered just indulging her, but he quickly reconsidered. These women were ravenous animals and he feared succumbing to them would result in them tearing him apart. He offered her a nod and watched her shrug, sipping the innocuous looking lemonade.

"Suit yourself handsome. You should come in out of the heat, you look like you're simmering standing there." She licked her lips and turned toward the back door of the house.

A trap was a trap no matter what world Hiei was in but his shoulders were starting to burn so he followed her lead. It would be better to wait inside for Auntie Susan to pick up. He would just need to keep alert.

* * *

American cars were larger than they needed to be. Cars in Japan were considerate of the limited space on the planet and acted reasonably in response to that. Susan's Suburban? It was practically a bus. Hiei especially didn't understand why she needed that much room when it was just her driving around. Even given he was in the passenger seat, it made no sense. Had her husband been the size of four people and required the entire back of the car? The thought triggered Victoria's voice in his head.

 _If you even think about Carl, she will go nuts and cut her own hair again._

Did that mean Auntie Susan was telepathic? He hoped not, because if that was the case she would have definitely heard his sometimes rude and abrasive thoughts about her. That would cut into his pay, he suspected. Glancing to the side he confirmed she wasn't listening to his inner monologue. She was too busy complaining about how Caroline wasn't wearing a bra, was trying too hard and how she needed to dedicate to a new neck firming cream because she was showing her age.

"She's older than me by three years, did you know that? I'm sure you thought it was more than that. She really hasn't taken care of herself." Auntie Susan released her breath, slowing down her inane chattering _finally_. This woman spoke _constantly_ and it made Hiei feel completely vindicated in hiding the fact he could speak English. If this were a two-sided conversation he would be expected to play favorites which was something he stood staunchly against because when the women _all_ thought they were his favorite they paid better. And then they tipped him.

He realized he forgot to strip off his shirt at Caroline's and berated himself. No wonder she had only given him twenty extra. He had shorted himself. Dammit.

"So, I know that normally you just do the lawn but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind helping me set up some lawn furniture. I'm hosting a shindig tonight and I'd like the place to look amazing. I want my tinder-date to be blown away so maybe he'll blow me away." Auntie Susan laughed, hitting Hiei's arm lightly as she pulled into her driveway. "I'm so bad. I'm sorry."

He chuckled at that. If that was bad she wouldn't be able to stand some of the talk he'd heard amongst the soldiers who had worked under him, or even Yusuke's crass humor. That sudden memory took the momentary humor away. He'd been gone for so long now. How much time had passed back in reality? Had Mukuro looked for him? Did she think he'd deserted? When they managed to make it back-if they managed to make it back-he'd have to answer for his absence. He wasn't sure how to explain to that he'd been transported to another dimension in which he'd been rendered entirely powerless, taken hostage by an irate purple-haired monster who had held him at gunpoint, then forced him to sleep in the same room as Kurama for six months while he did manual labor for money since he was considered an illegal occupant of the country he'd been thrown into and had no documents to argue against that truth and therefore couldn't get a real job even if he wanted one.

Yeah. There was no way she was going to believe him.

Then he remembered Ashland and almost laughed at himself. Maybe he should lead his explanation with the fact he was a part-time 'manny' as Bethany called him (affectionately always, she adored him and she told him that constantly) for a five year old girl who fished with him and made him dance and he didn't hate that she called him uncle. Mukuro would surely think he'd gone insane. Sure, he'd be removed from any form of responsibility or command but the look on her face would be priceless.

The thought of being an uncle made him think as he moved on autopilot toward the tool shed, pulling out the mower to gas it up and attach the bag to the back. The work was automatic to him now. He thought about Yukina and wondered if she was safe, if she was happy. He disliked that he had no way to check on her. She would like it here. She'd be enthralled with the landscape, the heat, the people and their accents. He could see her sitting on the porch swing with sweet tea chatting with Grams about her life. He could also see her loving Ashland, enjoying the lake, learning to cook the food.

He realized, releasing the lever of the push mower so that it sputtered itself to death, that he missed his sister.

Swallowing, he shook himself, pushed the emotion deep down and restarted the mower. Auntie Susan's yard took him nearly an hour to mow completely and that was before he had to use the weed-whacker to edge the property. After, he'd have to dump the grass into yard bags, pull those to the curb then stow the equipment back in the shed. Generally, this was a two hour job for him. But the mower died halfway through and he had to disassemble parts of it. It took him half an hour just to get the wretched thing working again. He ended up sitting shirtless in a pile of cut grass with his knees and basketball shorts stained green like his grass-cutting shoes as he tried not to notice the fact he was itchy.

The work made it easy to forget he was stranded in a reality not his own. It even made him forget that he didn't actually mind being here, in this strange world with it's deliciously fattening food, it's stupid easily worn through shoes, and it's utterly insane women.

He drank the sweat tea Auntie Susan brought him before getting back to work, thankful for the ice in the glass because the afternoon had turned to sweltering. He signed for water and she rushed off to get him a glass. While he waited Hiei looked up at the blue sky, counting the random spotting of clouds. He supposed, out of all the possible realities he could have been forcibly dragged into, this one wasn't so bad. He wasn't being actively tortured at least.

Auntie Susan reappeared with his glass of ice water and Hiei took a small sip before just dumping the entire thing over his head.

When he wiped his eyes clear, he saw that the woman before him had started fanning herself with her hand, her bottom lip caught between her teeth. Hiei grinned at her. She swooned slightly.

He was going to get so fucking paid today.

Maybe he could convince Auntie Susan to take him to the mall before he had to babysit Ashland for the evening. She had told him she had time between this and her party. She might as well spend it on him.

Auntie Susan often relayed to him how much free time they would have after he finished his work, and always with a look of wanton lust on her face. If he felt like telling her anything he would tell her that firstly, he didn't care and secondly, if he wanted to take her to bed it would definitely require more than forty-five minutes. He might not be in his demon body but he still had stamina in spades. But he didn't say anything, especially not the second part because he felt like that might actually encourage her and that was the opposite of his intent. Instead, once he was done setting up the fold out tables and chairs, hanging strands of lantern lights that stretched across the yard from gutters to trees and back, staking tiki torches into the ground around the tables, he walked into the house with his shirt slung around the back of his neck his hands holding each end. Using the simple signs that he knew she understood, he asked for his favor.

Unsurprisingly Auntie Susan jumped at the chance to take him shopping. She loved buying him things. Victoria had dubbed her his sugar-free momma, which apparently meant she enjoyed doting on him even though he wasn't sleeping with her.

"It's so nice to treat someone who actually appreciates it." She told him as they paced through the racks of the department store. "I bet Caroline never takes you shopping? She's so selfish. All she thinks about is herself."

Hiei studied a pair of dark wash jeans with interest, barely acknowledging Susan's statements. He didn't own jeans. In fact, he didn't own any pants, only shorts. Well, that wasn't true. He owned the pants he'd arrived here in but they had been thoroughly soiled by living in that rotten house for a week before Victoria had found him. He only kept them so that when he eventually made it home he wouldn't show up to Mukuro in swim shorts and flip flops.

Though the shock factor might be worth it.

"You should try them on if you like them. Though, no offense honey, you might need to make sure the length will fit you." She held out the same pair in a different size a look on her face that counteracted her declaration that she hadn't meant him any insult. It was definitely a _bless your heart_ expression.

Still, he accepted her offering and sauntered toward the changing rooms. Certain clothes he didn't even need to try on, he could pick them right off the rack but items like these he definitely had to check. As he went he paused, plucking a pair of pants that were softer to the touch free from their rack. A white stripe ran down the leg, the ankles were elastic and narrow, white drawstring tie around the waist. Perfect. He brought them in with him.

When he examined himself in the mirror he had to grin. Pants in this era didn't rise up on the waist as high as they had when he'd first met Yusuke. That look had started to fade the last time he'd been in Human World anyway. He liked the way these jeans fit him. He wasn't big on the material though. There was no give. If he was forced to run or jump he wasn't sure he'd be able to do it efficiently. With a heady dose of vanity he admitted that aside from their uselessness in combat situations, the jeans did look _damn good_ on him. Switching the denim for the sweat pants he immediately felt more comfortable. In fact, there was no restriction when he leapt into the air or when spun around in a kick.

The jeans were a luxury. The sweats were a necessity.

When he freed himself from the changing room, he approached the same rack he'd nabbed the sweats from and grabbed a matching sweatshirt with a big leaf like design over six letters. Holding it up he could see that it would be just a touch too short for his torso but he didn't really care. He was shirtless most of the time anyway, who cared if his stomach showed under the hem of his sweatshirt?

His next stop, shopping bag in hand, was the shoe store. This time he didn't allow Auntie Susan to buy him anything. These he would get for himself as he knew the cost would tip him over into owing her something in return. With a trained eye he glanced over the offerings until he found a new pair of running shoes. Plain black of course. Trolling the walkways of the busy mall he picked his way into the sunglass mecca. All the employees regarded him with guarded familiarity. He ignored them, browsing.

The mall still caused him anxiety, but it was nothing like it had been the first time. Now he knew which stores to duck into if he needed to breathe. The people bumbling around like aimless bees were easy enough to dodge. He'd been in tighter situations.

"I'm going to get back so I can finish setting up. Want me to call someone for you?" Auntie Susan placed her hand on his back to gain his attention.

Hiei watched lifted his eyes from a pair of particularly tempting frames then shook his head no. Quickly he thanked her, because if he didn't Victoria would find out and do something to retaliate, before getting back to his inspection of the store's wares. Seriously. Even with five employees this place was practically begging for things to be stolen. The temptation licked at him, his palms itched but he forced the urge away. If Victoria was serious about thieving getting them banned he'd be out of luck. He needed access to this place so he behaved himself, pointed at the pair he wanted without a smile and stared down an employee until they got them for him. He watched them, diligent in making sure they didn't scratch his lenses like last time. These people were morons who took no pride in their work but they still peddled what he sought so he was forced to comply with their existence.

Glasses in hand Hiei reached into the pocket of his basketball shorts and pulled his phone from the depths.

This was another secret he kept from Kurama. So far the fox hadn't questioned Hiei's lack of interest in this world's technology and he wanted to keep it that way. If Kurama found out he had his own phone they'd have to _exchange numbers_ (he'd already stolen Kurama's number while the redhead slept. Victoria's too.) and he'd have to download those stupid applications that Kurama loved. No way. He did not want to send _snapchats_ or _tweets_. He wove expertly through the meandering masses as he thumbed through his messages to find Bethany's number. It was listed under _Ashland_ _'s Mother._ She was one of his three contacts. Just as he began punching in a text message to let her know to pick him up, he found himself in front of a salon.

Eyes glancing over the posters lining the hair cuttery's windows, Hiei exited his messaging app. He ran his fingers through his hair. He'd had a thought but for a few weeks he had dismissed it. There was a hairstyle he'd seen on a man and it had captured his interest but he had chosen not to commit to the change right away. He'd talked himself out of it in case Victoria miraculously solved the mystery of how to get them home. Now it seemed that wasn't going happen anytime soon so he figured, like all the other aspects of this existence he'd accepted, he could allow himself to try something new. So he walked into the salon and looked around. Spying the books of hairstyles laid out he flipped it open.

"Can I help you sir?" A woman approached him with one of those fake-helpful smiles that all human workers seemed to don.

He hoped they understood that showing their teeth that often was more of a threat than a comfort. Then again, from the fact that most of them looked dead behind the eyes maybe that's what they were actually going for.

He signed to her that he wanted a haircut. She stared back dully, then she frowned. "I'm sorry, I don't speak sign sir. Uh. Hold on."

Hiei rolled his eyes as she went to fetch a notepad. Instead of waiting for her he followed behind and set the book on the counter beside her register. With a single finger he tapped the picture of the style he wanted. She glanced from him to the picture then back up.

"Are you sure?"

He nodded once, eyes narrowing just slightly. She swallowed. Then she smiled at him brightly. "Right this way, sir. We'll be able to do that no problem."

* * *

"You changed your hair." Bethany shifted her attention to Hiei from the corner of her eye before going back to studying the road. "It's definitely different. You won't get lost in the crowd, that's for sure."

Hiei grinned, then let the expression fall. His eyes swept down her, picking out all the little details she was trying to cover. Tension in her shoulders, her grip on the steering wheel so tight her knuckles bleed to white. When they hit a stoplight and she turned to speak to him again, he didn't bother hiding his pulled down brows as he focused on her. She looked away quickly.

"Thank you for being able to watch Ashland. She really likes you and it means a lot to me that we're able to go these weekly appointments. Honestly, I think you might one of the only people I trust with my daughter. That seems so weird to me. I don't actually know that much about you." She began to ramble, her point lost as she continued to speak. After a few minutes they pulled into her driveway and she shut the minivan off but she didn't move to exit the vehicle immediately. So neither did Hiei. He sat and waited in silence.

"I like it by the way. Your new look." She told him unbuckling her seatbelt. "The hair is a little wild but it seems to suit you."

She gestured to his new clothes as well, which he'd changed into in the men's room at the mall. The dark denim and a white tee he'd hidden inside the sweatshirt Susan had bought him. He knew the sunglasses would be noticed but the store had so many shirts he figured the risk was minimal. Hiei glanced at the side mirror to admire his new cut. It wasn't as wild as she thought. He'd seen a few others with it. And the sides weren't shaved completely bald, there was still just enough hair to remind him he had some. The middle strip stuck straight up, styled to perfection by the suave hands of the woman who had washed, dried and cut his hair. The white burst from his bangs highlighted the mowhawk. They'd asked if he wanted to cover the shock of light hair but he'd adamantly declined.

It was only then he realized that Victoria had styled her hair the same way only a few short days prior.

He really hoped she didn't take this as a sign that he liked her. She was the sort of person who would grow insufferable with even the slightest hint of approval thrown her way. He could hear her taunting him now.

" _Oooo Hiei likes me. He wants to be like me. That_ _'s so cute."_

As Bethany finally chose to leave the van, Hiei moved slowly to follow. The truth was that he didn't _dislike_ Victoria. She had grown on him. It was hard to deny that she did her best to provide him and Kurama with a safe, comfortable place to live despite her constant bitching and teasing. And now that he'd seen her in action he was glad she was on his side. That compulsion trick of hers could prove problematic, especially without his usual defenses to call on. Still, she never used it against him.

Not even after he'd cut her when they'd first met. He wondered about that actually, because it would have been the perfect moment for her to utilize that power. She'd chosen, instead, to rely on her human instincts and tactics, her weapon. She'd spoken to them angry but in control.

Victoria was a formidable woman capable of great damage if necessary. Those were things he enjoyed in his allies.

But he would die before ever admitting as much to her.

He wondered about her and Kurama though. The fox liked her, despite being a little unnerved by her brazen attitudes from time to time. He felt she was _doing her best._ Hiei knew he was right but it was the way Kurama had said the phrase that irked him. It was like he was giving Victoria leniency in some way, but Hiei didn't know for what or why. She had those stupid nicknames for the redhead too and Kurama just accepted them.

Hiei questioned, only to himself and never out loud, if Kurama would want to go back when the time came. He looked mighty comfortable in this world where everyone knew he was a man. He could thrive here.

Ashland ran into the room and threw her arms around Hiei's legs, breaking his train of thought. She squealed in delight when he gently peeled her off him and pushed her back, jumping at him again with a giggle. She was getting stronger. Hiei liked to think that was his doing. If he could leave nothing else behind him when he went back, he would be satisfied knowing he left Ashland stronger and capable of defending herself.

The thought of it birthed and unwarranted ache in his guts. One he tried to ignore. The idea of actually missing the little girl bothered him on multiple levels. He had thought about this before. He knew that even if Ashland came to his world she would never actually be safe. This happy, strong-willed child would be broken by the tumultuous nature of Demon World. She wasn't made for it and he would never dream of allowing her to suffer like he had. Plus, he wasn't sure he was cut out to be a solo-caretaker for indefinite periods of time so kidnapping the child was out of the question. Where would he even put her? He doubted Mukuro would allow him to keep her in the barracks. He'd have to find a tiny bed for her, and stuffed animals, and sparkly dresses with matching plastic shoes. No. It wasn't meant to be.

He'd enjoy their time together while they had it and then he'd leave with the comforting thought that she would grow up in a world that she could shine in.

"Uncle Hiei you have a mowhawk! I want a mowhawk too!"

Ashland's father laughed.

"Sorry honey but no mowhawk." Bethany negated the idea while cutting through the air with her hand.

Ashland turned to her curls bouncing as she pouted. "But, but, but-"

"You can have a mowhawk when you're older. Maybe for your birthday." Her father knelt and pulled his daughter in for a hug.

Bethany audible heaved an annoyed sigh.

Hiei briefly, in a fleeting fit of anger, considered clocking the man in the jaw. Not for dissuading Ashland from changing her hair, he didn't rightly care about that at all, but because he was still angry that the man had ever raised his voice to the child. What pissed Hiei off about it was that he would have never guessed. On the surface the family seemed perfectly functional, far more so than the other families Hiei had been privy to, but it seemed that was a lie. The fact it had flown passed Hiei angered him. Victoria had said it was under control, and he would believe her for now but so help him if that man did anything to hurt that little girl he was ready to take him out. A kappa would make for a great disposal system for a shitty dad. Instead of acting on his momentary rage, he bent down and scooped the small blonde into his arms, allowing her to toy with his new hair. He held her in one arm as though her weight meant nothing to him. In all honestly it wasn't a burden but if he stayed like this too long his elbow would strain.

Human bodies were useless meat sacks and he couldn't wait to be a demon again.

When he spied the dragon mark she'd drawn on her arm he used one hand to sign to her _It_ _'s getting better_.

She beamed at him hugging his neck.

"Okay you two, don't have too much fun." Bethany smiled at them both, kissing Ashland on the head. "She's already had lunch but she might want a snack. And she's used up her screen time for the day so no TV. Try to stay inside if you can, it's hot out."

Hiei nodded along like he always did. He knew the drill by now. He was an Ashland expert.

"Thank you for doing this Hiei." Bethany's husband patted his shoulder. Then he tickled Ashland while Hiei held her, grinning as she squirmed and squealed. Hiei fought the urge to shove him back. The random need to bite the man hit him and that too he repressed. "Miss you munchkin! We'll be home soon!"

It was supposed to be a secret, and the parents acted like this was their date night but Hiei knew what was really happening. Bethany was forcing her husband to attend some form of couple's counseling. Between travel time, the session and the dinner they always had after the whole event took about three hours. Hiei knew this because he watched Ashland every week for this appointment as she had run off her last three babysitters and only wanted him to be there. For anyone else she was an unholy terror of screaming fits, throwing things, running around. Hiei didn't believe it at all. It was hard to imagine the little creature being any form of menacing as they sat in the living room surrounded by her stuffed animals as she painted his nails with her tiny bottles of nail polish.

He had no been receptive the first time she'd tried to doll him up but then she'd cried and the sound got under his skin to the point that he'd given up. If he could record her doing that awful wailing he might be able to turn it into a form of sonic weaponry. Plenty of demons had sensitive hearing and if that screeching disabled him even with his senses dulled he could only imagine it's power if he supercharged it. For a second he reconsidered bringing her back with him again then quickly dismissed the idea once more. Still wouldn't work. He pulled his hand away as Ashland released him, allowing him to study the dark purple lacquer with it's embedded glitter.

Ashland did not have a steady hand. She'd gotten pain on his fingers around his nails but he didn't care. He could scratch that off once the paint dried.

"Do I look tough?" He asked, holding the hand up next to his face.

"Sparkly tough!" She beamed at him. "Your hair is spiky."

"Thank you." He smirked, pleased.

"Do I look tough?" She asked him, putting on her best mean face.

"Not at all." Hiei shook his head, watching her pout. He leaned forward. "But that's makes you dangerous. They'll never suspect you. Use that to your advantage. You just have to be stealthy."

She nodded earnestly.

"You remember the rule?"

"If I'm going to do it, don't get caught." She bobbed her head.

"That's right." Hiei held his other hand out to her. "Don't do a partial job. Finish what you start."

She started painting his blank nails. "Why don't you talk?"

"Don't want to." He told her.

"But _why_?" She pressed, the high pitched lilt of her question birthing a sigh from his chest.

"Just don't." He shrugged and the action made her hand slip so purple streaked over his finger. He rolled his eyes but said nothing. "Mind ya business, little girl. Focus on your work."

After his nails dried Hiei hunted for snacks for both of them. Ashton colored at the kitchen table, sitting on her knees to gain enough height to be comfortable. Hiei glanced at her. "Where are the secret snacks?"

Ashland slid from her chair and walked over to him, pulling herself onto the counter. She strutted over to the refrigerator and crawled onto that as well. Hiei watched her, impressed at her fearlessness. She carefully pulled open the cabinets that would otherwise be unreachable sitting above the appliance and pulled from their depths the expensive cookies her mother kept moving. With surprising grace she dismounted the fridge to land on the counter with quiet feet and then hopped to the floor with a big grin.

Hiei nodded, impressed. "See? Who needs to look tough when you can be stealthy?"

She extended her hand to him with a demanding look. "You gotta share. I did the work."

If he was the sort of man who cried, he would have shed a tear he was so proud of her.

Nearly three hours after arriving, Hiei sat on the living floor once again, listening as Ashland introduced her new toys to him. The completely inaccurate bright blue stuffed elephant. The miniature baby doll with plastic limbs and a soft body that she had dubbed Dennis. And finally she approached him with her hands behind her back. Hiei raised his eyebrows, arms crossed over his chest. He honestly couldn't care less about these toys. He didn't both feigning interest or a smile. He just sat there listening to her which Ashland didn't seem to notice. Or at least she never acted like she was bothered by his unresponsive attitude.

"I call this one Cookie. I love him the most." She produced a stuffed dragon toy, black and purple with shiny purple spiral horns that matched it's underbelly and claws. This one caused Hiei to blink. "Do you like it?"

Hiei offered a noncommittal grunt in response.

"I got it because you're my bestest friend and you like dragons so now I do too." She grinned at him, obviously delighted with herself.

Bestest friends?

Hiei stared at her, mouth opening to ask her what the hell that was about when the door opened and her parents came in. They carried a to-go bag of food from the restaurant they always visited on counseling days. Ashland changed gears like the wind shifted directions and screamed in excitement, running to throw herself in her dad's arms as he crouched to greet her.

"Hello monkey, did you have fun with Uncle Hiei?" He asked her.

"Lots of fun!" She threw her hands in the air. "Can Uncle Hiei spend the night?"

Hiei balked, making a face as he leaned away from the child out of discomfort. He shook his head in answer to her question not wanting to wait to see if he'd get permission or not. It had been a day of constant socialization and now he was ready to go home and recharge. That thought stopped him for a second, as he realized he was comfortable enough to call the lake house _home._ This place was making him soft. He needed to do something to counteract the attachment he was developing. Maybe he'd sleep on the boat so he could get annoyed by the sound of insects and the constant attacks of mosquitoes. Whatever it took to remind himself this world was a hellhole he was trapped in and not a place he should grow to enjoy.

"Hiei has to go home honey." Bethany explained to Ashland when ASHLANDS DAD didn't respond to her question.

"But I want him to." Ashland's bottom lip poked out, her arms crossing over her chest. She slowly shifted into a scowl and Hiei glimped the demon underneath for the first time. "You're mean mommy!"

Bethany's shoulders sagged, her eyes moving to her husband. Her eyes clearly implored him to say something but he didn't. Hiei watched the exchange and decided if this sorry waste of space wasn't going to do something to aid his wife, then he'd have to. So he walked over pointed at Ashland's nose with his own scowl.

 _Be nice or I won_ _'t come back_. He signed to her. _Your mom is right._

Ashland watched his hands move studiously, her little mouth forming around the words he signed pointedly. As she pieced together his meaning her pout grew more pronounced.

"But I-"

 _Apologize._ He demanded, pointing at Bethany.

Bethany watched the interaction with soft surprise shaping her expression. She waited for a moment as Ashland huffed and sighed then finally the little girl looked at her mother.

"Sorry mommy. You're not mean." Ashland looked down to the side.

Bethany turned to Hiei in awe of him for a moment. Her eyes wide, her mouth hanging open slightly. Then she shook herself. "Thank you baby. I have to take Uncle Hiei home now. Say goodbye."

"Bye Uncle Hiei." Ashland spoke sadly.

Hiei tucked a knuckle under her chin and raised her face. Then he offered her a quick grin, mussed her curls and turned to leave.

On the ride back, he spent most of the time in his own head. Ashland had grown so attached to him. Was that alright? Should he stop going over? Eventually he'd leave. He knew, better than most, what it felt like to be abandoned by someone you considered family. Was he setting her up for that upset? Would she understand that when he left it wasn't because of her but because he had to go? Could he relay that this wasn't her fault? He didn't want her going through the same rejection he'd felt when the bandits had turned him away.

"Thank you."

Bethany's voice cut through their silent ride and it took a minute for Hiei to register she'd spoken as lost as he was in his thoughts. He turned to her, brow raised.

"For talking to Ashland. It gets hard being the bad guy all the time. I don't get a lot of support in that. ASHLANDS DAD loves her, I know he does, but he wants to be the favorite all the time so he never tells her no. So, it means a lot to me that even though Ashland adores you and you adore her, you were willing to tell her no." Bethany inhaled unsteadily, then sniffled, her eyes misting.

Hiei glanced at the ground as they drove wondering if he could tuck and roll out of the vehicle to avoid this conversation.

She wiped at her unshed tears, took in a deep breath, and then let it out as she calmed herself. That was it. She was done with the outburst and Hiei tipped his head as he studied her. Not in the same way as Mukuro, Bethany had a strength about her. Even though she was under the pressure of being the dominant parent and it was obvious it didn't sit well with her all the time, she still soldiered on. She accepted the burden, she shouldered it and even when it was too much, she handled it. That was admirable. He understood where Ashland got her obstinate will.

Instead of refusing to respond, Hiei chose to recognize her. He nodded when she looked at him. They pulled into the gravel driveway of the lake house and Bethany parked the van with the engine still running.

"Oh! Wait. I learned some ASL." Bethany held up a finger to him and shook out her hands. Then she told him in slow motions she absolutely had to think about as she went _Thank you for what you do_.

Hiei begrudgingly admitted to himself that despite his constant misgivings about this strange soft world, he actually enjoyed a lot of it. Victoria would never know lest she get any ideas about not sending them back. He also refused to tell Kurama because if the fox discovered he'd grown a soft spot for the lake house he would never let it go. The food here was good, flavorful and he liked the various spices. There were so many options. The entertainment was pretty good too, HBO knew how to catch his attention. And then there were the people. The annoying, overly friendly, touchy people. He hated most of them but he supposed if he was being forced to reveal a secret or die he would say that there were a handful of them he actually liked.

So he snorted, smirking and answered Bethany's stilted attempt to communicate with him. _No problem._

* * *

 **A/N2: HA. Surprise author** **'s note at the bottom. Just wanted to mention that** _ **technically**_ **Hiei** **'s hair cut is a faux hawk, and someone will eventually point that out. Just saying. I didn't want someone coming into the comments to be like "uh, not a mowhawk sweetie" because I'm aware. Thanks babes! See you on the 15th!**


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N: If you guys have any music suggestions let me know either in the reviews or by PM (here, twitter, tumblr, wherever) because my playlists are all sounding a lot like one another and that won** **'t do. I love listening to music to get inspiration, as I'm sure most of us are in the habit of doing, so hit me with your best songs.**

 **This chapter is all about Kurama and a day in the life of our favorite redhead.**

* * *

Kurama pushed away from the slapped together desk he'd pilfered from Victoria's storage shed some weeks earlier. Stretching his arms above his head he twisting gently side to side until he heard the relieving snaps and crackles of his spine. The second floor of the lake house held the heat the air conditioners downstairs banished. Beads of sweat trailed down his neck and back. He'd unbuttoned his collared shirt three or four buttons and still the air pressured him to just shed the garment all together. Now that he was done with his online work the day he feasibly could strip down and enjoy the privacy of the room since Hiei was gone all day bouncing between aunties and Ashland's house. He hoped Bethany was doing alright.

Instead of shirking out of his clothing all together he changed into a pair of blush colored chino shorts and a pale grey linen shirt, also button down, but this one at least at short sleeves. Tucking the front of his shirt into his shorts he held a black elastic between his teeth. Using muscle memory he wrapped his thick hair through the elastic until the mass of scarlet sat atop his head. It was a small bonus that in this world men wearing their hair in what he knew as feminine styles was not seen as unusual. It made surviving this awful heat easier at the very least.

Several coats of antiperspirant later he felt safe to leave the room and head downstairs to speak to Victoria before Grams arrived. Just before he closed the door he paused, glanced back at the tangled top sheet and blanket, considering leaving it as was before ultimately deciding to cave and make the bed. Hiei was a slouch. He had been in their world and he was in this one too. Maybe not in all ways, but definitely when it came to housework. The former fire demon made a terrible roommate. He barely ever picked up his own clothing to put it in the basket for washing, much less had he ever learned to operate the damn washer and dryer himself. He left the tidying to Kurama, which he had explained a few nights before.

" _You like that sort of thing. You're always doing it." Hiei waved a hand dismissively through the air, eyes already closed as he lay on his back ready to sleep._

" _I'm only always doing it because you never seem to you." Kurama bit back, sitting up next to Hiei with arms crossed and a frown prominent on his face. "You couldn't survive on your own in this world, Hiei. I'm convinced."_

" _Don't make this my problem, Kurama. If you want something done then stop whining like a housewife and actually ask me to do something."_

 _Kurama casually fluffed his own pillow in his lap before gripping it firmly on each side, shifting his weight and bringing the lumpy memory foam cushion down on Hiei_ _'s face, holding it there for a solid minute as the other man shoved at him. When he relented it was with a satisfied smile. Hiei shot upright, accusation and fear lighting his previously lazy features. Kurama laid his pillow down, snuggled against it and sighed happily._

" _I feel better."_

" _I'll pick up the clothes."_

" _If you wish, Hiei."_

The memory brought back the sick satisfaction he'd gotten from the moment and he savored it. Hiei had grown lax, thinking they were in a world relatively free of dangers they could not handle. Aside from the random odd demon popping up, Grams strange power and Victoria's apparent manipulative energy the dangers of this life were fairly mundane. Except for Kurama's anger. No, that was far from humdrum. His wrath still held all it's sharp edges and worse for Hiei was the fact they were on even ground. At least before Hiei had been able to sprint around or flash away to avoid being caught in his poor attitude, but now he had nowhere to run and no means of escape. Hiei was trapped with Kurama.

So he better learn to pick up his own goddamn shorts from the floor for his own good.

Kurama settled himself, plastered on a smile he hoped rang of gentleness and left the room finally.

"Good morning." Kurama called as he landed at the base of the stairs. He kept the cheerful mask in place despite the fact that Victoria did not immediately turn to greet him. "Have you eaten?"

Victoria stood at the back door peering through the screen as she mindlessly rubbed the stone of her necklace. Her gaze seemed fixed to something in the distance, eyes slightly pinched into a squint as though she were lost in deep consideration of some troublesome idea. It was a look he'd grown familiar seeing over the last several days.

Ever since Dorian's visit Victoria seemed troubled at all times, even when she tried to fake otherwise.

"I was thinking that once I got back, we should practice your Japanese some more. You're starting to grasp the pronunciations. We should keep up with it so you don't lapse." He continued on with his one-sided conversation, hoping to draw her out of her transfixed state.

"I'm not sure what to do about Abraham." She voiced, distracted. It was obvious she hadn't really heard anything he'd said. "All he does is lurk by the dock."

"Might I suggest exterminating him?" Kurama's callous suggestion earned barely a glance from the teal haired woman. Oh. That's what her hair reminded him of so suddenly: Yukina. It was the same color. Had she chosen it for that reason? He doubted it, honestly.

"I guess maybe I should have." She admitted after several moments of silence lapsed. "He's not meant to be chained to a small section of water, being fed cucumbers by an idiot. But it's not his fault he's here now. He was brought here."

"It tried to kill Ashland." Kurama reminded her unamused with her misplaced humanity. "Kappas aren't the highly evolved beings you might be thinking they are. They run primarily on instinct, and often that instinct is not friendly towards humans. Sure, it's fine with you or even us, but if it were to get away it would definitely kill someone. And we can only hope the most it does is kill."

Victoria's finger curled around the stone she'd been fiddling with, nestling it in the center of her fist. Closing her eyes she looked to be in pain for a moment.

"I don't want to kill him after tethering it to me. That seems cruel." She spoke quietly.

Kurama went to say something but was cut off by her finishing her thought.

"I wonder if this is the way Dorian sees me."

Kurama stared at her. A rush of understanding as to her expression and her strange protective of the demon struck him like lightning fixating on the tallest tree in the forest. She was projecting. No wonder she had given the damn thing a name and spent a small fortune on cucumbers to keep it fed. He hadn't been able to grasp her reasoning before but now it all made sense.

"Did the salve work?" He asked her, safely tucked into the kitchen where he could lean forward with his elbows on the counter to study her. This vantage point allowed him to see the nuances of her expressions, her posture, her reactions. He took mental notes of everything so he could parse out the rest of this puzzle at a later time.

She sighed, bringing her thumb up to her teeth. Her words came out around her chewing on the skin by her nail bed. "Only one way to find out."

Leaving the house.

Something he hadn't seen her do since Dorian had attacked her. Them, really, but it was Victoria who had suffered the most from the assault. He couldn't blame her for needed time to recover. She'd gone from one unspeakable test to another that night, and the fact she'd had energy at all to expend was nothing less than a miracle. Despite her exhaustion, her fear, her rage she had still stalked out into the yard to meet her demon head on without hesitation.

He had the feeling that Yusuke would very much so enjoy making Victoria's acquaintance. They had some similar hard-headed tendencies when it came to protecting others. It was easy to picture Victoria puffing up her chest, chin raised and glaring down an enemy she had no hope of defeating. With that same ease he could imagine her coming out victorious, if not for herself then definitely for those she was standing up for.

"You look nice." Victoria finally turned to him fully, still gnawing on the skin around her cuticle. When green eyes pointedly fixated on her hand she lowered it from her mouth.

"Thank you. Apparently I'm being taken out for brunch today." He explained. "Which leads me to ask, will you be joining us?"

"Not today."

Of course not. It had been worth a shot asking anyway. He'd find a way to get her out of the house eventually.

"I forgot it was brunch day. Grams, Bethany, Vanessa and me always go out once a month for brunch. It's our girls day or whatever. I'm glad they're taking you."

"I don't need to remind them all that I am, in fact, not a woman do I?" Kurama's expression lost all pretense of friendliness. The shift earned a stifled grin from Victoria, who shook her head. "Come with us. Act as my buffer."

Maybe if he made this about needing her there to save him she would-

"Not today." She repeated, her smile dying slowly. "Vanessa will keep the wolves at bay."

"You cannot expect a wolf to turn on the pack." He sighed, forlorn.

"Sorry sport." A shrug answered him. "You'll have fun. It's all talk, mimosas, food and then maybe even mani-pedis. I'd send Hiei too if I could. That dude needs someone to clip his damn toenails. They make me want to gag when he wears flip-flops."

Kurama laughed, rolling his eyes in good humor. "Try sleeping next to him."

"Do you two like sleeping together?" Victoria slipped onto one of the bar stools as she asked the question, her body swiveling just ever so slightly back and forth.

"It's not ideal."

"I sort of figured that." She pursed her lips. "I have a cousin, Payton, and he has a trailer up for rent. I bet I could take it off his hands for a while. Would one of you want to live near the wood line? It wouldn't have AC, it's a hitch trailer so it'd be small too, but it would at least have it's own bed and some storage for personal effects."

"Small? Near the woods?" Kurama perked up. He felt his face grow bright, a genuine grin spreading out over his lips as he slammed his palms down onto the counter excitedly. The action made Victoria jump. "That sounds perfect for Hiei! How much do I have to pay for this to happen? Can it be done soon?"

"Let me give him a call." Victoria leaned back from him as he teetered forward in his fervor. "I'll talk to him while you're out."

"I will pay." He emphasized.

"I get it, K-drama, I get it. Calm down. I'm scared you're going to kiss me in your gratitude or something." She held up her hands to ward him off. "Relax."

"I'm just so happy." He expressed, unable to articulate the sheer amount of euphoria this idea had unleashed in him.

"Oh, yeah, if you guys go shopping could you take a look at some window units?" She requested. "I'll give you my card in case you find one that's a good price. I feel bad you guys have to live in that hotbox. I tried to repair the old one I had but it's dead and gone."

After fishing in her pocket, Victoria produced her debit card and slid it toward him. He stared at it for a solid twenty-seconds before raising his curious glance to her face.

"Why do I need your card?"

"So I can buy the window units for you. I'm not going to be there. I trust your judgment."

"I could drain your account, you know. This is incredibly trusting of you. In that same vein, it's unspeakably naive."

"What are you going to do, Kurama? Rob me? I know where you sleep." She leveled him with a dark look. "Not to mention you wouldn't be the first man to wrong me and run only to discover for yourself that I can, and would, hunt you _the fuck down_."

He felt the hair on his nape raise so he accepted the card without further argument. "Glad we're on the same page."

"Me too." She stared at him until someone opened the front door. They both turned their attention to the interloper.

"Hey babe. You coming with us?" Vanessa bee-bopped into the house without preamble, sun-kissed skin still glowing with warmth. Her hair sat high on the back of her head in a ponytail that bounced side to side with her movements, her lipstick the perfect match for her thin-strapped summer dress. "You know you need your nails done with the way you've been chewing at them."

Grams followed Vanessa in and at the last statement shot her granddaughter a disappointed frown.

Victoria curled her fingers so that her nails were hidden against the counter top. "I don't do that anymore."

"Victoria still isn't feeling her best, so I believe she's staying in today to recover." Kurama announced, glancing to the woman for confirmation. When she nodded he tacked on, "Please don't forget to eat well today. You cannot regain your strength if you don't drink water and give your body the fuel it needs."

"You have no idea what brunch means do you?" She asked him.

"It's the casual meal between breakfast and lunch."

"Don't worry baby, we'll put some meat on those bones of yours. You look like a strong wind would blow you away." Grams patted Kurama's shoulder with a warm smile. Turning to Victoria she added, "We'll bring something back for you."

Victoria nodded in acceptance, thanked her, and planted a sweet kiss on her grandmother's cheek before the two women rushed Kurama from the relative coolness of the house and into the instantaneous sweat bolstering sunshine.

* * *

"Oh we're fixin to be ready honey, just a minute 'kay?" Bethany flashed a dazzling smile toward the waiter who immediately accepted her sweet demand. "So, y'all know what you want yet?"

Kurama set his menu down. He went to open his mouth when Vanessa took his menu from him, stacking it with her own then Grams.

"Yeah, we're all set." Vanessa turned in her seat and grinned as she waved the waiter back over. "Thank you for waiting sweetheart, so we're going to get-"

Kurama kept trying to interject with his order but eventually gave up as he realized that the others had ordered for him without bothering to ask his tastes. Vanessa winked at him and he forced himself to internalize his urge to sigh.

This was going on his blog later.

"Thank you for ordering for me." Kurama tossed at Vanessa with as much shade as he could muster without bringing too much attention to his rudeness.

"You got it baby, don't you worry. We're gonna take good care of you today. You're one of the girls." Vanessa shot him a smile that told him she knew she was pissing him off but she didn't care.

"I am, decidedly not." He smiled sweetly. "Though I don't mind being your token boy friend."

"You think highly of yourself if you think you're good enough to be our boyfriend." Bethany laughed. "I'm so glad you came today, although I have to ask, is Victoria okay? She's been shut up in that house for a week now. I hope this isn't like last time she hit one of these moods."

"I think she'll be alright." Kurama allowed cautiously, though he managed a disarming smile to sway any lingering doubt. "This has happened before?"

"Yeah, after her mother died." Bethany sighed and glanced at Grams, her face losing it's radiant joy. Suddenly, for the first time, Kurama realized there were fine wrinkles around Bethany's eyes and her mouth. Smile lines, he'd heard them called before. Like a gentleman he didn't comment on their presence, but they still caught his attention. It seemed attempting to be a constant visage of happiness had it's cost. "It was an awful time for her, she loved her momma so much. It was heartbreaking. She broke down crying during the eulogy and couldn't finish. When her daddy starting seeing my mom she got so angry, it was like she turned into a different person. We had never been close before that, but she definitely wanted nothing to do with me after.

"But right after the death, I remember she missed school a lot. She had to get a special note from a therapist about it so that she wouldn't get held back. It was pretty serious."

Kurama listened intently, bent toward Bethany slightly as he leaned over the table. She seemed truly worried about her step-sister. He pressed his lips thin, adding this story to his mental notes about Victoria. His intrigue and concern wasn't necessarily for the presence of the deep depression that had obviously taken hold of his friend, but because he knew now that Dorian had been summoned into her life around the same time. Was it his presence that sapped her energy? Had she walked between planes then too and found herself recovering for so long after?

He felt guilty for trying to push her into joining them if that was the case.

If she needed time to regain her strength and herself then he shouldn't be dictating how that looked. It was her timeline to manage not his, no matter how well-intentioned his meddling was.

"She'll be fine." Kurama assuaged Bethany as he reached over and patted her hand, allowing himself to lapse once more into his most calming, placating smile. "Victoria just had a rough weekend and is more sensitive to such things than she lets on."

"You two are really close." Bethany gave his fingers a squeeze before retracting her hand and before his eyes she shook off her veneer of concern, replacing it once more with that glowing smile. "I'm glad she has you around. I always thought Vick might be a touch lonely, but she's been awfully pleased having you two visiting her."

"Glad to hear it."

"Well, I'm glad you were able to join us." Grams told Bethany. "How are you honey?"

Bethany made a show of rolling her eyes as she huffed. "Did you know that damn fool I married told me he'd _babysit_ Ashland so I could go out? Babysit. His own damn child. I had half a mind to break a plate over his head."

Kurama's eyes widened. He angled toward Vanessa with that expression in place, his shock honest. She just winked at him once more and sipped her ice water. When the water brought over their first round of food she ordered a round of mimosas for the table. Then she paused, glanced at him and changed the order.

"Actually make that a mint julep for the gentleman."

He squinted at her in suspicion but let it slide. There was a lingering feeling that today was going to be strange so he might as well lay back and allow it all to wash over him. With careful fingers he plucked one of the orange slices from the side of his plate and ate the wedge delicately as he listened to Bethany go on about her husband. Every new thing he learned of that man made him glower inwardly. He knew that Hiei agreed but his roommate had in no uncertain words threatened the man's life if he ever dared raise his hand against Ashland or Bethany. Kurama had to admit that he found this side of Hiei awfully charming. It was rare to get to witness the short man's protective nature outright, but here in the comfort of a world that wouldn't immediately turn that softness against him, Hiei seemed to be growing into the habit.

"Men these days." Kurama lamented with a burdened sigh. "Not to say there haven't always been men with no sense, but it has been far more noticeable lately, in my opinion."

"Right?" Bethany nodded, bite of her breakfast held midway between the plate and her mouth. "Some people just weren't raised right and it shows. I'll tell you, if I had a son, I would never let him turn out like his daddy."

"That's a rather telling statement." Kurama hadn't meant to say that outloud but he had and now all three women regarded with him mixed humor and discontent.

"We don't just say things like that." Vanessa warned him with a soft hit to his shoulder "Tuck your opinions behind your teeth Kurama."

"No, he's right. That man needs to get his mind right." Bethany protected Kurama with her statement. "I get it. Sometimes I don't understand why I deal with that man at all, other than the fact he's a good daddy to Ashland. He has his moments but he does love that little girl."

Kurama chose not to comment on that one.

"So, Kurama, I heard you had a run in with Baby Brett." Grams broke through the conversation to pinpoint all the attention onto the redhead who rued having to shoulder it.

A venomous glare directed toward Vanessa earned a shrug and a head shake of denial. She accepted her mimosa from the waiter and immediately sipped it while avoiding eye contact. Kurama thanked the man for his mint julep, unappeased.

"Brett told me. I was down at the restaurant the other day and he was all kinda flustered about this man he'd seen at Victoria's place. I think he's in love with you." Grams explained, offering a teasing grin. Her eyes twinkled. She was so much like her granddaughter, he couldn't deny the relation if he tried.

Victoria was a pain in the ass too.

"Can we not." Kurama groaned. He sipped his drink and immediately sputtered at the strength of the alcohol he swallowed.

"Figured you could use the help taking the edge off." Vanessa clicked her tongue, shooting him a completely inaccurate salute. "I got your back sweetie."

He should have realized this would be an ambush. Damn. He'd grown soft, lax in his company. A foolish thing to do.

"I think we should." Grams flashed her teeth in a smile. That look did not ring of comfort.

"I met the boy, yes. He did not see me at my best so I find it odd that he found me attractive." Kurama pursed his lips. "I also would like us to not make a thing out of it. He's a boy, his hormones are rampant. There's no reason to blow a simple crush out of proportion."

"He's enamored. Couldn't stop talking about you and how cool you sounded and how comfortable you were with yourself." Grams pressed with delight.

"I just want to adopt that poor baby boy." Vanessa lamented, ignored.

"You have quite the charm about you." Grams continued as though no one had interrupted her.

"He's my son." Vanessa sighed heavily, visibly distraught. "I have to adopt him. His parents are just so shit."

"I have to disagree. I think for a boy his age, it's natural to find strangers attractive." Kurama waved a hand through the air to dismiss the notion of his allure and also to bypass whatever breakdown Vanessa was in the midst of having. "I'll admit I was surprised to learn that he was attracted to me as a man. I normally get mistaken for a woman in those scenarios, so despite his affections being misplaced I will say they are mildly flattering."

"Maybe it's because both of y'all share a persuasion." Bethany suggested, her mimosa halfway gone along with a good portion of her meal.

Vanessa choked on her eggs, coughing into her fist before hitting herself in the chest, tears threatening to spill out her eyes. Her face burned red and Kurama couldn't tell if she were actually choking or if her sudden guffaw had simply caused her to inhale a bit of food and now the mixture of coughing and laughing just made it look like she was struggling to swallow. At any rate he decided, as retribution for her dig at him earlier, that he would wait a few minutes before coming to her aid. To his minor disappointment she managed to calm herself down quickly.

"Oh my, are you alright?" His cool question earned a look from the woman.

When she didn't answer right away he offered her a meaningless smile that did not touch his eyes, then turned to Bethany with curiosity. "What exactly do you mean by persuasion?"

"Oh, well, you know." She gestured to him with obvious discomfort as though he'd put her on the spot to say something embarrassing. "It's not like it's bad or anything, we just don't have a lot of folks like y'all in town so he's probably attracted to you for that reason."

"I'm not following." Kurama turned to Grams and Vanessa for clarification.

"I'm gonna give you a minute." Vanessa patted his knee and shook her head.

He knew then he had missed an obvious piece to this puzzle so he sat back and considered the conservation while enjoying his cheesy grits and his fried eggs. He enjoyed spooning the grits onto his toast, adding a piece of ham or bacon, then the egg and eating that open-faced sandwich with his fork to avoid messing his hands. Halfway through his third bite the answer struck him and he stopped chewing, closing his eyes. After swallowing purposefully, he sipped his drink and sipped his drink and sipped his drink. Perhaps Vanessa was psychic, because she had been right in ordering him something strong enough to bolster his languid nature for this discussion.

"Ah. Yes. I get it." He patted his mouth with his napkin then sighed, raking his fingers through his bangs. In the kindest tone he could manage he went on. "Bethany, honey, while I have found myself attracted to men I have to discourage you from labeling my sexuality for me."

Her cheeks burned scarlet when he turned to look at her with glittering, eyes as he worked the charm he had just denied having. With a sultry lift of his lips he held eye contact with her and watched her blush deepen.

"After all, it's not only men who have captured my interest."

Bethany made a small noise, her eyes wide and lips parted. He cut her some slack and dulled the razor blade that was his magnetism.

"This food is delicious. I admit, I was skeptical when you ordered for me." Kurama pulled back and shifted his attention toward Vanessa with a gleeming smile in place. "I have truly grown to appreciate grits, and even though I know it isn't good for me, the cheese just adds something deeper to it."

"We'll have to make you my famous shrimp n'grits soon then. You'll love it." Grams announced. "We'll do it on Sunday. Everyone will be together and it'll be a meal. Maybe you could even make us something from your home. Your mother surely taught you to cook."

A mild sense of panic gripped Kurama from his stomach, his expression slipping some. Cooking? Oh no. "She did teach me a few things. I'll try to make something everyone will enjoy."

"I'm sure you will, honey." Grams eyed him in a way that made him suspect she'd put him on the spot for a reason. Like she _knew_ he couldn't cook but asked him to anyway. Blue eyes glanced toward Bethany, which made green follow, and then Kurama connected the dots. Well. These women really didn't like it when you teased their family now did they?

He mustered up some false confidence after finishing his drink. His saving grace in all this was that none of Victoria's family seemed all that well versed in Japanese culture or cuisine. Her cousin Bobby had asked him how much rice his family grew and that became the standard for his expectations of these people. Not that he didn't like Victoria's family. It was just that they had no idea what the hell they were talking about most of the time.

"Leave it me." He grinned, flashing his teeth with intent.

"Of course, baby. Of course. You know what, I'm realizing we haven't been all that hospitable to you and Hiei, have we? We've just been serving you all our own food. I think I'll look into some good ole Japanese homecooking and whip something up for y'all too. We'll compare recipes."

Feeling himself backed into a corner Kurama tried not to snap his teeth. Instead he gestured for a second drink, preparing himself for a battle of wills and stomachs. "I'd like that very much Grams, how incredibly thoughtful of you."

He wanted to narrow his eyes in suspicion but he didn't have time. His brain was already at work trying to think of the best recipe he could master in the five days he had until Sunday. Cooking had never been his strongest trait. His mother had tried several times to teach him, and he could do basic things to help her. He'd obviously learned simple, healthy recipes for when she was ill. But that had been mostly raw foods, heavily nutritional items to encourage her to recuperate.

Grams seemed to sense his internal quandary because she offered him a saccharine smile. He took another bite of his food, chewing thoughtfully as the waiter provided him his second mint julep. Oh, he could not wait until Sunday. He was Kurama for fox sake. He could learn to do anything if he wanted to. Cooking would be nothing. And when that family buffet started, and Grams ate his food she'd know she had challenged the wrong demon. He couldn't wait to bite into her surely Americanized Japanese dish and smile sweetly while uttering his favorite spiteful southern idiom.

 _Bless your heart._

* * *

"It's so ungodly hot out here." Kurama fanned himself the vehicle manual he had fished out of Vanessa's glove box. The haze of the two beverages he'd consumed had only grown worse once he'd stepped into the heat. Now he was sticking to the passenger seat of Vanessa's Jeep waiting for the gods to just kill him already. "How do you stand the heat?"

"You were airy clothes, you drink sweet tea and you sit in air conditioning all day." Vanessa told him before laying on her horn. "Get out the damn road you dingus! This isn't a turn lane motherfucker!"

Kurama let her road rage slide because he had grown fair accustomed to it at this point.

"My hair is so thick. I can't handle it." He complained further. "It's like having a furnace on my head and neck."

"So cut it."

"I can't just cut it, what would my mother think? She actually likes it long."

"You could just thin it out or get an undercut. That'd probably help. And you wouldn't even notice it when your hair is down." Vanessa waved her hand at him before shouting obscenities at another driver. Calming down she turned to him for a second. "If you're not too much of a momma's boy that is."

"Undercut?" Kurama blinked at her, considering what that might mean. It sounded familiar.

"Yeah, like shaving the area above your neck? You'd see it when your hair is up but not when it's down."

Oh yes, he had come across that. People had designs carved into their hair above their nape. He bet that did help with the heat. It would mean less mass in and of itself but if he could get it thinned out as well that would be even better. It was a shame Shizuru hadn't jumped realities with him. She would be furious to learn he allowed another stylist to handle his locks, but he would deal with the repercussions later. This was an emergency.

"Let's do it." He stated firmly, his resolve fully thrown into the plan. "Now."

"Don't you need to buy an AC unit?"

"This first. If I don't get this haircut I might actually die."

"You're so fucking dramatic." She laughed. "I like it."

"Thank you."

* * *

Kurama only felt the thick fog of inebriation begin to lift from his thoughts once he was studying the back of his head using a handheld mirror, the hairdresser before him glowing with pride for his work. The man grinned, hands on hips, tattoos on display in full color to match his electric blue hair styled into a hard part comb over. He looked awfully proud.

Green eyes studded the undercut, with it's intricate geometric design, and he felt his stomach flip once. But then he touched it and the short hairs tickled his fingertips and that gut-punch of _did-I-fuck-up_ vanished as a smile blossomed onto his face.

"It's perfect." Kurama told the man, lowering the mirror. "I already feel like I'm ten pounds lighter."

"Yeah, no kidding. Your hair is insanely thick. Also, I have never met anyone who had such vibrant red hair naturally. Most redheads have coppery colored hair, but yours is something else." The man looked Kurama down then up. "Must match that eye-catching smile of yours."

Kurama faltered for a moment, the idea he was being hit on by a man, yet again, striking him. Instead of floundering in confusion he just offered back a brilliant smile sure to melt the knees of anyone trapped in his attention.

"That slick tongue of yours will get you into trouble." He taunted, pulling out his wallet.

"God willing, it will."

That earned a chuckle from Kurama who paid the man for his handiwork and tipped him generously on top. Vanessa whistled and clapped at him once she saw him in the seating area, her trashy magazine discarded now that she had no reason to kill time.

"Well don't you look pretty as a flower. Now that you're all hot and made up, let's go get you an AC unit." She looped her arm through his, dragging him from the salon out into the mall proper.

Green eyes blinked for a moment, eyes scanning the crowd. He was positive that was Hiei he just saw walking toward the exit on the first floor, but it couldn't have been. The man had a fauxhawk for crying out loud. On was in _jeans_. Kurama wasn't sure that Hiei would ever be caught in jeans, much less in a building crammed full of people. He shook off the mistake and fell in step with Vanessa as she guided him to the department store that would hopefully meet his needs.

"They're going out of business so you won't be able to get a refund but they are having one hell of a sell." She explained. "Let's get us some deals honey."

* * *

Vanessa whipped into Victoria's driveway, unsettling gravel and causing dust to billow up behind her rear tires. The short stop coated Hiei, who was staring at an unfamiliar car, with the dirt clogged air. He spun around and flipped them off angrily. All at once Kurama realized that there was a stranger nearby and also that he _had_ seen Hiei in the mall with what appeared to be an expertly styled fauxhawk that also now matched his glittery, dark purple fingernails that looked as though they'd been pained by a toddler.

" _Busy day?_ _"_ Kurama asked, hopping from the Cherokee's passenger side.

" _Shut up. Look._ " Hiei gestured to the strange car.

" _Yes, Hiei, I see it._ " The red head nodded, thankful for his new haircut but still feeling the need to fan himself in the heat. " _Help me with the air conditioners._ _"_

Hiei jumped into action at the word air conditioner, nearly pushing Vanessa out of the way to grab one of the heavy boxes. His near goblin-like grin told Kurama that he'd made a good choice in his deeply discounted bounty. If nothing else, they'd at least be cool at night from now on.

"Wait. I think I know that car." Vanessa announced, reading the license plate. Then she muttered a string of ugly, colorful swears that ran together in a creative menagerie neither man had ever heard before. She marched to the front door leaving them both behind to either follow or wait.

They exchanged a look and Kurama followed, his AC unit forgotten, as he waited to see what drama was about to unfold.

Vanessa didn't bother knocking, she simply turned the front door's handle and pushed it open, stepping into the entryway looking ready to slit a man's throat. Kurama followed on her heels, Hiei close behind clutching one of the two window units to his chest as though it might disappear. What greeted the three of them were two strangers, one male and one a tall female, who had obviously been talking to Victoria. Their teal-haired roommate looked immediately annoyed and tired at their presence.

"I told you I wanted you gone before my roommates came back Brandon. You ass." She lamented, exhaustion riddling her posture. "Great. Now I have to explain all this."

Kurama glanced between all four of the humans, waiting for someone else to speak. Hiei adjusted the box in his grip, slowly allowing it to slide to the ground with his guidance. He edged it away from himself, eyebrows pulling down and feet sliding apart as though he might be attacked. The redhead had to disagree with that body language. He didn't feel threatened in the least.

In fact, with Vanessa's ire radiating from her like heat waves off of a volcano he imagined the only being in this room that needed to fear for itself was the man caught in her sights.

"What the ever loving fuck." The man gestured toward Kurama and Hiei, gaping in mild disgust before he turned back to face Victoria. "You've gotten into some real weird shit, Vick. You're living with two dudes now?"

"Call her Vick again and I'll rip your balls out through your throat asshole. What are you even doing here, you giant perv?" Vanessa entered the conversation with vigor. "Come to ask for a second illegal photo-op? Well she's not interested in whatever you have planned with your little girlfriend."

"Hey, I'm not little." The tall young woman disparaged. "And I'd never do anything to piss off Vick."

"Stay out of this." The man rolled his eyes.

"Nice way to treat a lady, you sick fuck." Vanessa laid into him further. "Is being a gross pig your new fetish?"

With audible frustration, Victoria sighed, her head rolling forward to hang on her neck, her shoulders coming down. After a moment she rose, squaring herself with what seemed like her last grain of energy to declare, "Vanessa stop. They're here because they need my help."


	20. Chapter 20

Song for Chapter: What You Waiting For?- Jaques lu Cont's TWD Mix/ Gwen Stefani

 _ **A/N: hey guys! Happy April Fool**_ _ **'s Day! Hope none of you got too tricked today. If so, then I hope tomorrow you offer double the pranks because they won't expect it. The true fools are the ones who dare to mess with you.**_

 _ **Anyway here is Chapter 20! On time even. This chapter is Victoria centric and it delves into her head a little, so bear with me, alright? Thanks loves. Also! If you read Survivor**_ _ **'s Guilt but don't follow it or me, I uploaded Chapter 1 of the sequel today as well! I hope you all have good nights and days.**_

* * *

 _Limbs floating above her, hair caught on the current, Victoria sank through deep water that smothered her in a clear, crisp darkness. It didn_ _'t bother her that she couldn't breath, she felt like she had never been able to really breathe and this was just how it was meant to be. Fill herself with the water, sink down, allow it to make her weightless. It didn't sting to open her eyes._

 _This is simply how it is to live._

 _Drowning._

 _There was no sound, so warmth, no cold, nothing to pierce through the liquid swallowing her whole, so there was no reason for her to fight it. Deeper, deeper, deeper still, letting herself relax and just succumb to the will of the ocean weighing down her. She breathed it in it, she exhaled bubbles. Small air bubbles caught on her eyelashes when she blinked and that was when she knew she hadn_ _'t always been drowning. Once, however long ago, she'd been breathing air. Her lungs ached to protest but she tried to forget. Her eyes closed and she felt the caress of the disturbed water over her cheeks as it moved upwards while she sank._

 _So what if she_ _'d once known what land felt like under her feet?_

 _There was no land now._

 _It was better to drift down._

 _Let go._

 _Light behind her eyelids startled her. She flashed her eyes wide, a stream of bubbles erupting from her parted lips. Light? Down here? There it was, a light shining through the water, turning the darkness a beautiful surreal turquoise. Hands fell through the light, reaching for her and she blinked once, brows pulling down in confusion. Her arms came down to her sides, pushing against the pull of the water gripping her, yanking on her. Her legs followed, coming under her. She moved upwards, trying to swim towards those curious hands._

 _But no matter how hard she paddled, she made it no closer to the fingers clutching at empty water, hoping to find something substantial under the surface._

 _She was trapped, suspended, unable to move forward or back, unable to rise or fall._

 _Floating._

 _Sinking._

 _Surrounded by darkness and light and the small gradients that made up both._

Victoria gasped, choking on air as she rolled to her side. She coughed, hefting herself to her elbows, terrified for a moment when she didn't feel water claw it's way up from her lungs. It took several seconds of sputtering, of panic, to realize she was in her bed. Darkness coated the room, soft as velvet. Once she found herself in reality the cold sweat slicking her skin made her shiver against the warmth beating through the walls of her bedroom. She'd kicked her blankets off, they now pooled on the ground as they ran off the foot of her bed like a waterfall.

Hank whined, belly crawling toward her with ears down. He pressed his wet nose against her neck then ducked his whole head under her chin pressing the length of his body against hers. Victoria wrapped her arms around him, burying her fingers in his fur. Slowly she was able to breathe again, in and out, in and out, in and out.

Still feeling as though she were floating she sat up, Hank sliding down to lay halfway in her lap. His tale thumbed slowly against the sheets. Checking her phone, Victoria pushed her damp hair back from her face and made peace with her lot in life. Three in the morning.

Again.

She settled back against the headboard, eyes closed as she pet her dog and she tried to focus on relaxing hoping in vain that sleep would return to her. A wasted wish, as she knew it would be. So, just like she had every day since Dorian had shown up on her doorstep she stopped fighting and climbed out of bed to head downstairs as quietly as possible. She walked Hank around the perimeter of her property, blinking in confusion when she found herself back in her kitchen.

She couldn't remember coming back. Or was it that she hadn't left yet?

Getting three hours of sleep a night was making her crazy.

Hank seemed calm, satisfied, so she decided she had already taken him out. Moving to fill his kibble bowl she stopped herself, staring down at the half-full bowl she must have already filled that morning. Shaking her head she dropped the scoop of dog food back into the large tupperware it had come from.

"I should eat." She muttered to herself, moving through her kitchen like a phantom. Trying her best to pay attention to what she was doing, to stay present in the process, Victoria put a pan on the stove. Eggs and toast. Simple. It would be good for her. When was the last time she'd eaten? She couldn't remember but Kurama would have said something if she'd been consistently avoiding meals. Had she had dinner last night?

That's right, they'd had Grams' chicken and broccoli casserole. She'd brought it over in the afternoon to be sure they were eating. Victoria breathed out slowly, annoyed at herself for not remembering. For not focusing. For drifting through so many days that they all blurred together in a senseless mix of details.

Pouring herself a glass of water, Victoria chastised herself for letting this happen. She should be able to keep it together better than this by now. She should know how to manage herself. She was an adult. She had a college degree, paid taxes and owned a house. For fuck's sake, she should be able to make herself sleep. And she definitely shouldn't think that making eggs without incident was a damn success story. She was better than this.

She really was.

But it was like she couldn't grip time. It slid through her fingers like raindrops, finding no home in her grasping hands. No matter what she'd tried she just didn't seem able to control her present. It jumped around. One minute she was petting Hank the next she'd be mid-conversation with Hiei or Kurama, barely aware of how she'd gotten there or what had been said. The last two days had been the worst.

Maybe she should take something to _make_ herself sleep she thought as she sank onto the couch, the television turned onto infomercials with the sound way down. Hank hopped onto the cushion beside her, once again pressing into her side as though to hold her up.

He was a good dog.

Victoria watched useless commercials blankly, not really paying attention, until she realized she'd once again zoned out. Hank made a sound, a small _boof,_ and she knew that the boys were awake. Soon after the sound of the floor creaking had her on her feet and in the kitchen to start on their breakfast too. If she couldn't do anything else, she could at least make sure they were fed. For them she put bacon in the over with the timer set. Bread in the toaster.

A hand touched her arm and it sent a bolt of lightning through her senses. Crying out, Victoria scrambled back from the contact her hands flying up to her head in a pitiful attempt to stop the rush of sharp _noise_ that strangled her brain. _Hot static._ Tears threatened to well up at the sensation, something she could never truly describe to another person. It was hard to put into words. It was like being struck by hot irons, stabbed with them, while your entire nervous system was on Novocaine. It still hurt. It scalded. But there was also a dullness behind the attack, no actual intent to harm. No malice.

Just a strange sense of molten concern.

Hiei jerked his hand back from her, just as caught off guard as she was if not more so. He looked alarmed, wide crimson eyes turning to his fingers before he carefully pulled back from her to watch as she straightened out. Victoria shuddered a breath, licked her lips, and blinked several times until the heat and the static and the hiss of it all dissapated.

Hiei had the sharpest, most intense emotions even when he wasn't trying to have any at all.

Kurama's were pointed but not sharp. The difference between being struck by a knife and a needle. Pressure points, that's how she'd describe Kurama. Pressure points. But Hiei was either all-encompassing in his emotions or he was a slice. Either way he ate at her in brutal ways that weren't his fault at all.

"I'm fine." Victoria swallowed, lying. "I just didn't sleep again. It's okay, Hiei. Sorry. You spooked me."

She forced out a smile for him but he didn't seem to buy into it. His face still scrunched a bit.

In measured, slow syllables he told her _"The oven is done."_

She glanced at the device and he was right, the timer had gone off. The bacon was done. Fuck. She'd done it again. He watched her, she could feel his attention on her back like the point of knife sliding down her skin to make it's presence known without any intent to harm. Pulling out the food she was glad to see the meat hadn't burned. It must have just gone off. Thank god.

Kurama had been teaching her Japanese for a while but she was slow to learn. It was hard to wrap her head around some of the intricacies of pronouncing the words correctly. Hiei took pity on her and spoke in small sentences, definitely dumbing them down to meet her level of translation. She appreciated that about him, actually. She should tell him that. She didn't thank Hiei enough for things, instead always goading him. It was fun to rile him up but it occurred to her that she owed it to him to show her appreciation too.

"Thank you." She told him. He stared at her and she laughed, quiet but honest. " _Thank you_."

He glanced over her, didn't seem to like what he saw, then nodded. Once she made eggs he accepted his plate at the counter, prepared to devour her offering. He waited, staring at her expectantly.

"I already ate."

 _Eat again._ He demanded gesturing to the rest of the food.

"It's for Kurama." She protested.

He frowned at her. _You need your strength. Eat. Kurama is busy anyway, he won_ _'t be down anytime soon._

Her stomach growled and she rolled her eyes to the clock on the oven, realizing it was well past eight in the morning and it had been no less than four hours since she'd last eaten. Her days were so scattered it was hard to keep track of what a normal schedule was supposed to look like. Relenting to Hiei's demand she made herself a plate and leaned against the kitchen counters as she ate from it.

 _I have to work. Kurama has a gathering to attend. You_ _'ll be alone today._

Her fork skittered over the surface of the plate, missing her bite of egg entirely. She turned her attention down to her food instead of looking at Hiei's face. "Sounds good. I'll see you guys this evening then."

Part of her had looked down because she knew Hiei was trying to gauge her reaction and she didn't want him to. His curiosity pierced her. It was so damn bright it hurt her head. But she also didn't want to see if he was going to say something else.

She'd never been this intensely effected by the emotions of others before. She'd always been _effected_ but never this bad. If just Hiei and Kurama exhausted her she loathed to think what waited out in the world. Surely she would crumble into a useless mess of tears, pain and frustration when thrust into the closest crowd. Finally, after finishing her food which left her with no excuse to hide behind, she met that harsh gaze boring into her. Swallowing under his attention, Victoria just forced another smile.

"Good, it'll be nice to get rid of you two for a while anyway. Might finally get some peace and quiet." She told him then laughed as though she meant it. "Which aunties are going to be worshiping you today?"

He smirked then and went on to describe his plans for the day and when she could expect him back, most likely. They joked for a few minutes about him getting bigger tips if he let the aunties feel like they'd actually get a piece of him sometime when someone pulled into the driveway. Hiei pushed his long empty plate away and strutted toward the door, slipping on his worst pair of tennis shoes coated in green stains before marching out to greet his wanton ride.

Hiei was right. Kurama didn't come downstairs for a while, though she could hear him moving around in the room. He was likely working on his tutoring. Victoria admired that patience in him, it was something she lacked herself. It wasn't for lack of trying and honestly she'd gotten better since she was a teenager, but then again who hadn't gotten better since they were kids? She walked over to the back door, ready to sit on the porch and bask in the heat when she hesitated. Were her wards around the property strong enough? Even though Grams had done her work to reinforce them, would Dorian be able to feel her out there?

Without thinking about it she raised her hand to touch the spot he'd kissed months before. Lowering her hand, she chose to lean against the door instead of going outside. Just in case. Her eyes caught sight of Abraham bobbing around in the water. There was a sizeable splash and the quick glimpse of a tail fin from a fish before the splashing ceased and the kappa dove beneath the surface. The poor thing was trapped here and she didn't know what to do about it.

Unfocused, barely making sense of the fact she was staring out over the yard, she stayed in place.

Kurama's sudden appearance, his voice cutting through her static thoughts jarred her. She must have been talking to him without realizing it because he sounded like he was answering her. She glanced his way over his barbed comment about exterminating Abraham. Had she said that out loud?

There conversation was fairly short and she didn't like meeting his eyes during it. His expression, though genuine, bothered her. Victoria didn't like that mixture of pity and concern on his face. So, she did her best to do what she always did when she uncomfortable, she switched topics to something he might actually get excited about and asked him if he wanted a separate place for either him or Hiei to sleep. It doubled as a distraction because once she called her cousin, who was a known long-winded talker, she'd have something to focus on. A task.

She was glad Kurama could fill her place at brunch because she didn't have the energy to be out in the world, listening to people complain, feeling their frustration and tension as though it was her own. She didn't need that biting anger that Bethany carried under smile. She didn't need to feel Kurama or Vanessa's concern for her, digging into her and making her feel useless and guilty for not being stronger than she was. Nor did she need the rest of the world to come barreling down on her all once, a cacophony of emotions that she had no business containing, no investment in feeling.

She was glad she didn't have to go to brunch, but the silence that consumed Kurama's absence was little better. Hank looked up at her, rising from his belly to sit with his tail thumbing slowly from side to the other. She smiled at him, reaching down to scratch behind his ears.

"I guess I should call Payton then."

It took her a few seconds to dig up Payton's phone number as she quickly came to realize she didn't actually have it in her phone. She'd been certain he'd texted her at least once, right? Maybe?

"Bingo." Victoria smiled at her laptop, having found his number through an ad on facebook for the trailer she wanted to borrow from him.

They weren't close, not by a long shot. In fact, she didn't remember the last time she'd spoken to her cousin unless you counted the quick small talk at the family reunion last summer. So, when he picked up the phone it was no surprise he answered with a gruff, "Who's this?"

"Victoria. Your cousin." She drawled back, standing in her kitchen.

"Victoria?" He asked and she fought back the biting response she'd wanted to offer. Instead she inhaled and exhaled slowly.

"Yeah. The one with the weird hair."

"I know who you are, I'm just trying to figure out why you called me."

"Real warm reception there buddy. I want to take your trailer off your hands for a little while." She rolled her eyes. That's right, she didn't talk to Payton because she _didn_ _'t want to_. He was always a bit an ass. "I don't want to buy. I want to rent it from you. I have some house guests and only one bedroom to offer."

"I want to sell it, not rent it."

"Sell it after I'm done with it."

"You call me up to tell me what to do with my damn property? This is the sort of bullshit everyone hates about you."

"I did the math and if you let me rent the trailer you could make more money. Plus it's been up for sale for two months with no takers. Haul it down here to my property, I'll pay you monthly, and maybe we can do a little work on it while it's here so you can actually sell the damn thing. You sonofabitch." She snapped at him. "I'm trying to help you out here."

"Sounds like you're trying to help yourself."

 _I_ _'m going to help you find the quickest path to the hospital you bastard._ She thought with heavy frustration.

"Who is this for? Those two boys you got living with you? I'm not sure I want them in my trailer doing god knows what."

Oh cool, now she had to deal with protecting the boys from homophobes. Joy. Perfect. Just what she fucking wanted to do with her day. Why couldn't people just mind their own lives and stay out of everyone else's?

"Ain't a single fucking person on this big blue earth asking you to pass judgment on two men you've never met. Put the bible down and let me rent your damn trailer." She growled into the phone. Then she cooled herself. "How do you even know about them anyway?"

"Whole family knows. Uncle Craig said something about it, said you came in with them to dinner at your Grams'. He said they were strange, foreign boys and he didn't trust them." Payton explained.

Victoria bit back on the taste of acid rising in her throat. Not from sickness, no, this was from pure rage. Her head swam with it. Her fucking father was the worst thing to ever happen to her. She hated him. God. She hated him so fucking much. Didn't say a goddamn word to her at all that day and yet has the gall to run around spreading her business like he was involved.

"It's not right." Payton went on, painfully unaware of the monster foaming at the mouth on the other side of the line. "You've always toed the line of decency, but running around with two of the gays and doing who knows what with them. It's unnatural."

What was unnatural was what she was going to do to the bigots in her life.

"You don't have a whole lot to say all the sudden." Payton declared, sounding awful proud of himself.

"You're going to sell me that trailer and you're going to do it for a third of the price you're asking for it. Then you're going to bring it to my property and unhitch it." Victoria spoke carefully, eyes narrowed on the nothing before her. Not the empty space in her kitchen, but that strange nothing one focused on when they zoned out. She tapped into that, felt it in her veins and humming through her skull like the mildest current.

Hiei had seen it before, she knew. She wasn't sure what to call it. Maybe a form of compulsion. Her mother had said it was their family's light colored eyes that did it to people, made them listen. Grams said it was their stubborn pride. Victoria felt it was something of the mix and also something more. It was a power. Normally she hated to do it, she didn't like manipulating people and it made her dizzy. It felt wrong. On any other day, at any other time, when she wasn't run ragged and frayed on the edges and pissed off she might've had the capacity to feel guilty for what she was doing.

Today was not that day, and she was not that bitch at the moment.

She'd never been able to do this without making eye contact before. A thrill went through her at the idea that she might actually be getting stronger.

"Okay. When do you want it dropped off?" Payton replied to her, his smug tone gone.

Victoria set up the time with him then hung up the phone.

Her father's side of the family had never cared for her much. She didn't blame them, necessarily. She hadn't been a nice kid. Part of their dislike was her strangeness, the way she stared at things sometimes, the way she listened to things that weren't there. Her father never believed. She found that so strange given her mother who was made of magic and poured it out into the world around her with love and kindness.

She hoped Payton choked on his disbelief today. She hoped when he put his phone down he understood that she wasn't a liar. And she hoped that struck fear through his heart, fear he'd have to live with alone because not a single damn person on that side of the family would listen to him even if he bothered to tell them.

Victoria is a witch, he could say, and they would respond, you're on drugs aren't you?

A sick sense of vindication rolled through her at the thought and on its heels came another wave of crashing exhaustion. Reaching up she wiped blood from under her nose, disregarding it.

"I'm going to take a nice bath." She announced to the dog who panted by his food bowl. With a smile she shook her head. "It's not time for food yet baby. Soon. After my bath."

* * *

Victoria bathed in candlelight, soaking in her tub. The hot water held the distinct scent of lavender, orange, and chamomile, the dried bits of which drifted lazily around her as she lay back with her eyes closed. She'd used a hefty cup of epsom salt as well, something to soothe her muscles. Instrumental music played, echoing off the bathroom walls and resonating through her skull.

She focused on the scented steam rising from the water's surface, breathing deeply and exhaling slowly. She felt the aggressive heat of the water as it engulfed her skin.

Inhale deep.

Exhale slow.

Her body relaxed. She turned her focus inward, identifying her thoughts.

Inhale deep.

Exhale slow.

 _What am I doing?_

 _Avoiding thinking about it. Avoiding it all together._

She screwed up her face, crease forming between eyebrows as she stiffened against her own answer. Once again she eased herself into the meditation.

Inhale deep.

Exhale slow.

 _What am I avoiding?_

 _You know the answer. You_ _'re avoiding thinking about it all. How you handled the kappa. What you saw. Dorian. You're shutting it all down and out. You don't want to deal with any of it._

 _But you have to._

Inhale deep.

Hold it.

Exhale slow. Slower.

 _Why do I have to? I want it to have never happened._

 _You know that_ _'s not realistic, Victoria, you idiot. You know you have to do this. You can't hide and live in fear for the rest of your life._

 _Why not? I have access to UberEats. Amazon delivers necessities. I can work from home._

 _I can_ _'t believe I'm this stupid. I can't believe I'm going to let him win._

 _This isn_ _'t about him. What am I supposed to do? I can't stop the veil from opening._

 _Literally no one has asked you too._

 _It hurt to be there. It was scary. I was scared. I don_ _'t want to be scared like that again._

 _You can_ _'t hide from fear forever._

Inhale.

Hold it.

Hold it.

Keep holding it.

Exhale.

 _Why-_

 _Ask it._

 _If you ask it, you_ _'ll have to answer it too._

 _Ask it anyway._

Inhale.

Hold it.

 _Why am I a black hole? Why am I swallowing the emotions of everyone around me? I feel like I_ _'m drowning. I feel-I feel-I feel like I'm not actually_ feeling _anything at all._

Exhale, slowly.

Hold it.

 _How do I fix this thing in me that got broken?_

 _Or was it taken?_

 _It wasn_ _'t taken. It just got broken a little._

 _Broken things don_ _'t feel like they're missing._

 _Am I missing?_

 _No. No you_ _'re not. Think, Victoria. Think. Think about what happened. Stop focusing on the veil and on the fear and on how much you terrify yourself._

 _What else is there?_

Inhale deeply, slowly.

 _There_ _'s so much else. Kurama was there for me, wasn't it? He made dinner. He took care of Ashland. Grams helped fix the protections around the house. Hiei took of me. He felt it too, a little, but he didn't lock himself up. Vanessa listened to me. She was worried but she didn't stop listening._

Exhale slowly, completely.

Inhale.

 _Then why are we drowning?_

 _Because it_ _'s easier to be overwhelmed by others than by myself. I can make excuses if it's other people. It's hard to admit that I'm the one who is draining my own energy._

 _There it is._

 _There it is._

 _How do I stop?_

Victoria jolted up from where her shoulders had rested against the wall of the tub, the water shifting harshly and spilling onto the floor. Hank barked outside the door. Another knock sounded against the wood and she waited, listening, before slowly pulling herself from the tub. Her conversation with herself ended, her meditation over, her mind instead focused on what was happening right then. She grabbed a towel and wrapped it around herself, peeling open the bathroom door just enough to be able to hear.

Someone opened her front door.

She moved on wet feet through her hall to her room, grabbing her gun and loading it. Quickly she shoved on a pair of shorts and a shirt, forgetting about underwear because who had time to get dressed when their home was being invaded.

"She's not here." A feminine voice spoke and the fire that had burned in Victoria in preperation for war snubbed itself out.

She knew that voice.

"Her truck is her." A male voice responded, sounding put out.

Victoria took a few extra minutes to get dressed properly before she came down the stairs, gun still in hand. Hank stayed in her room, locked away just in case this was a trick.

"You know, letting yourself into a woman's house is a good way to get yourself dead." Victoria declared from the stairs, brandishing her firearm casually when Brandon and Mekenzi, with two e's and an i, turned toward her. "Especially when that woman hates you."

"Jesus fuck!" Brandon jumped back, staring at her gun. "What the hell Vick?"

"Victoria." Mekenzi reminded him quietly before straightening herself. "Hi Vick!"

"Hey Mekenzi. Still haven't traded up I see." Victoria stared at Brandon with annoyance when Mekenzi giggled. "What are you doing here, letting yourself into my house?"

"I need your help." He deflated, uttering the phrase with defeat and disgust.

At his tone Victoria raised an eyebrow, then offered a glinting smile. "Well, well, well. Looks like momma is about to make some money."

* * *

"Let's deal with this before my roommates get home." Victoria

"Did you curse me?" Brandon sat on Victoria's couch deadly serious while Mekenzi wandered around like a marveling child, oooing and awwing over some of Victoria's trinkets and books.

"What?" Victoria deadpanned back, not quite sure she'd heard him correctly.

"Look, in the years that I've been doing this job I've had maybe four real cases. _Maybe_. The only I know for sure was real was the last one you were on. Everything else is muted or bullshit. You know that. You used to complain about it constantly. In the last three months? I've had three real hauntings and this one? I don't even think this thing knows how to _pretend_ to be human, Vick. This is straight up an evil entity and that's your bag not mine." Brandon explained. "So I want to know if you cursed me or some shit because this is unprecedented."

"No. I didn't curse you. I don't think about you, much less with enough active energy to actually wish you ill." Victoria rolled her eyes.

"I knew you didn't." Mekenzi spoke up in all her perky, adorable glory.

Victoria had the strong urge to protect her from the cruel world but in a sort of detached way.

"Don't get me wrong, I would have. In fact, when we broke up I definitely did an impotence curse on him. But no, this one isn't me." Victoria shrugged. "Not my monkey, definitely not my circus."

"That was you?!" Brandon yelled at her.

"I told you I was going to." Victoria reminded him. "I don't know why you're acting surprised. I mean, I said it to your face. I think you have it on tape still."

"You're amazing." The blonde Amazon pacing the room sighed.

"She is not." Brandon snapped, glaring. "She's a monster."

"Oof, sounds like a strong name to call someone you just came to beg help from." Victoria tisked a few times, shaking her head.

"I'm not begging."

"Then I'm not going."

The two of them locked into a staring contest, Victoria unblinkingly daring Brandon to test her. Brandon seemed to think he could win this particularly fight, his nostrils flaring.

"It tried to drown someone."

Victoria blinked, shaken from her pettiness by Mekenzi's statement. "What?"

"The entity. It tried to drown one of the owners of the house in their tub." She explained.

"Did you call the police? Because that sounds like someone covering for attempted murder." Victoria waved her hand through the air. "Look, nintey-nine times out of a hundred, these ghost stories are just people either making shit up or people hiding something."

"No, it was real." Mekenzi assured her. "It told Brandon it wanted to kill him."

"Who doesn't?"

"Fuck you." Brandon glared at Victoria who flipped him the bird without thinking about it.

"What else?" Victoria centered her attention on Mekenzi.

"Well, it destroyed the circle I made." Mekenzi frowned then. "I did it like you told me, and I definitely visualized it, but it just carved a line right through the salt."

Victoria's interest piqued. That was interesting. Definitely something powerful and malevolent. She believed that Mekenzi had followed her instructions, mainly because the taller woman had been so excited to practice that aspect of her craft.

"Scratch marks started appearing on the floor and walls." Brandon went on. "The owners heard a voice all sorts of things. This is next level."

"Sounds like it." Victoria relented, falling into thought. "It cut through the circle?"

"Yeah. I was terrified."

"Then what did it do?"

"Nothing."

That was weird. It did all that work for no pay out? Why? What was driving this being? Where was it finding this level of energy? Where had it come from?

"Nothing like this ever happened in the house before?"

"No." Brandon pressed his lips together. "These people have lived there for twenty years without incident."

Victoria frowned then, her eyebrows pulling down and together. Just as she was about to ask another question the front door blew open and Vanessa marched in with fire in her big brown eyes, the boys coming in after her. After allowing Vanessa to have her moment to lay into Brandon, which Victoria couldn't deny was highly entertaining, she pulled out her phone and pulled up a rarely used phone number.

"Hey Mark. It's Victoria. Oh, I wasn't sure you'd saved my number-yeah not the point. Sorry. Look, Brandon is here and he's freaking out about these recent cases. Could you bring me the footage so I can get a sense of what's going on before I decide whether or not this is worth my time and my soon to double-or-triple going rates?"

"Seriously." Brandon stared at her dully.

"Supply and demand Bray. Welcome to capitalism." Victoria ended her call and shrugged. "Mark will be here soon."

"Are you alright?" Kurama walked over and placed a tentative hand on her shoulder, his eyes taking in her expression. "You look a little better than you did this morning."

"I did some soul searching." She told him, nodding. "Thanks for worrying about me. I don't think I showed my appreciate for that, so, thanks. You too Hiei."

Hiei sneered at her, shirking back like he was afraid she was about to hug him.

"Yeah. That seems about right." She smiled and rolled her eyes. "Alright kiddos, let's start from the beginning. So, here's the situation-"

* * *

Mark stood at the counter with his laptop open, his massive over the ear studio headphones hanging around his neck as he checked the sound quality of the videos before turning the computer toward Victoria. She accepted without a warm smile.

"You might want these." He pulled the headphones from around his neck and held them out to her.

Hiei made a sound in the back of his throat, standing close by. Victoria raised her eyebrow, turning toward her shorter roommate and found him assessing Mark with open distaste. He rolled his eyes toward Kurama, snorting derisively while muttering something in Japanese that made Kurama fight back a smile, turning away from the cameraman.

"Are you two done being asses?" She demanded of them.

Hiei fixed her with a pointed look then nodded toward the computer, _Watch your video Victoria, we_ _'ll watch everything else_.

"That was weirdly cryptic and seriously discomforting." She pursed her lips then pulled the headphones over one ear leaving the other one available, starting the video. She scrolled through the quieter parts to find activity listening and watching carefully.

Victoria was pleased to realize that the emotions in the house felt distant, the same sensation as hearing a song from another room. Mark sidled closer to her, not that she minded, right hand coming to rest on the small of her back and the left pointing at something on the screen. She didn't shirk away from his touch just tensed at it because she hadn't expected the warmth. "See that? That was the first indication something wasn't normal."

"There's a voice."

"I know." He nodded, speaking quietly by her ear.

Victoria paused the video and went to listen again when she stopped and turned to look to her right side where Hiei was suddenly very close to her, his eyes glued to Mark. The warmth of mark's palm disappeared and she glanced over her shoulder to see Hiei retracting from moving the other man's hand.

Hiei warned Mark in a strangely defensive tone, speaking Japanese that was too quick for her to follow. She turned to Kurama for translation.

"He says not to touch Victoria so lightly." Kurama explained in that carefully light tone he adopted when he agreed with Hiei and was mildly wary with the situation they were in. "I must explain, she had quite the shock recently and has been sensitive to the intentions of others. While I'm sure you only mean well, a little space at this time would be the most caring thing you can offer."

Hiei snorted and shot something back at Kurama.

"I know you didn't say the last part, Hiei, but it's true none the less."

"Wait, Hiei?" Brandon piped up, confused. "Like from that anime you were obsessed with?"

"I wasn't obsessed." Victoria scoffed. Like a liar. "It's a pretty common name in Japan nowadays. All the rage. Jeez. And that's Kurama. Got something to say about that? About two men named after prolific mountains?"

"Yeah, I do actually. That's is a completely weird coincidence." Brandon pointed out. "I mean, what are the odds of that? Or did you choose them to live with you because of _your_ weird fetish?"

"We don't kinkshame comrades in this house." Victoria snapped at him.

"You just did it to me!"

"You're not a comrade." Vanessa pointed out.

"I didn't mean to overstep." Mark lowered his voice. "I'm sorry if I-"

"It's fine. They're just a little protective of me. They're good guys." Victoria assuaged him, running on fumes despite her improved emotional state. The had been long for entirely different reasons that the last week had been. For that she was actually grateful. This tiredness felt normal, familiar, not so hungry and all consuming.

She'd bet she would even sleep through the night.

Except-

"Yeah, I think I need to see this in person. Whatever is happening here sounds dangerous and Captian Dickhead back there will only make this worse. He might even get himself killed." Victoria sighed, annoyed with herself for actually taking this job.

"It's pretty intense stuff." Mark warned her, but he did so with a small smile. "Maybe you can show me a little charm for protection I can do for myself."

Victoria eyed him, then offered her best flirtatious grin. "I mean, I can definitely do that but that sort of work will cost you."

He hummed and nodded, looking pleased.

"Please stop." Brandon pleaded with them.

"Seriously." Kurama muttered.

Victoria rolled her eyes. "I guess I better go get a bag ready. Looks like I'm going on a road trip."

"Vick, are you sure?" Vanessa watched her warily. "I mean, after what happened-"

"I'll be okay." She assured her friend she drew an X over the left side of her chest. "Cross my heart, hope to die."

* * *

Hiei came down the stairs with a backpack slung over one shoulder, sunglasses already pulled down over his eyes. Kurama followed his suit, carrying another bag, his laptop tucked under his arm.

"What the hell do you two think you're doing?" Victoria demanded of them, standing in the living with her own bag.

" _We_ _'re going too."_ Hiei told her, at ease with the statement.

"The hell you are."

"You understood him?" Kurama smiled, impressed. "Good. But he's right. You're still recovering from your last incident, so you'll need all the help you can get. It's better if we come."

"You two don't know what you're doing. I can't worry about you and do my job."

"You better learn." Kurama narrowed his eyes. "You are not winning this particular fight, Victoria. We are going. That is final."

"I'll take Hank to Grams'." Vanessa sighed, looking at Victoria knowingly. "Be safe. And if you let anything happen to her I'll bury you myself, Brandon."

"I just gotta say bye to Abraham first." Victoria set her bag on the floor and headed for the fridge to grab a treat.

Hiei rolled his eyes at her behavior.

"We need to be back by Sunday, I have a score to settle. This ghost house will have a kitchen yes? I need to practice a recipe." Kurama hid his annoyance with Victoria's life choices by switching topics.

"Oh yeah, it's a great kitchen." Mekenzi bobbed her head.

Both Hiei and Kurama could not fail to notice that when she nodded certain parts of her ample anatomy bounced a little too.

"Who is Abraham?" Brandon asked, looking around the room for an answer.

"He's my kappa, you ass. Fuck. You never listen to me." Victoria growled as she pushed through the back door. She made the walk to the dock quickly while the others watch from the doorway. Holding out a cucumber to draw Abraham out, she waited. The water spirit's head popped above the surface of the water, black eyes shining. He reached for the treat with his clawed, webbed hand but she pulled it away. "Look. I'm going to be gone for a little bit, okay? You need to behave. No bothering the neighbors."

Chittering answered her.

"I don't care! You're not allowed to bother the neighbors."

Brandon and Mekenzi stared, engrossed but disgusted. He whispered as though he was scared of being overhead by the creature. "What the fuck is that?"

"It's a kappa." Kurama explained coolly, shooting him a look. "She just said that. You don't listen well, do you?"

"Why is it here?" Brandon demands.

"We suspect it has something to do with the rift between realities." Vanessa answered.

"What?!"

"Okay, now. You're going to stay near the house and the dock, right? No trouble." Victoria held the cucumber out, then when Abraham reacheed for it she pulled it back again and pointed two fingers at her eyes then his. "You hear me, Abraham? Be on your best behavior."

A nod.

A cucumber.

And the party was underway.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N: Sorry this is late guys. It wasn** **'t intentional and I wasn't trying to prioritize SG:LIV over this story, it just so happened that this one wasn't complete and I had a near mental breakdown about owing taxes to the government (revolution is imminent, bury your gold). Anyway!**

 **For the record, peach red bulls are my favorite and I love them (Monster Ultra is also very good). I** **'m considering posting updates about my writings on my twitter if any of you want to follow me. You'll see a lot of content about Queer Eye, Buzzfeed Unsolved (I'm hoping if I tweet enough they'll hire me to co-host,** _ **which is the dream**_ **), weird work/life stories, and my husband on there. Heads up. The world up here in the Northeast is defrosting and I am living for Spring vibes. My brain works better when it** **'s not grey and cold out so here's hoping.**

 **This chapter is a little shorter than I would have liked but to get it up to word count it would have taken me the rest of the week due to my work schedule. This will work for now. Thank you for reading!**

 **Let** **'s see what our trio of idiots is up to.**

* * *

Wind whipped through the cab of Victoria's old pickup as the trio rumbled down the highway toward a dangerously haunted house. Hiei, forced to sit in the middle because of his diminutive size, did his best to not touch either of the other occupants of the bench seat before he eventually gave up and allowed his knees widen as he relaxed into his situation. Kurama rested his elbow on the window, his hair pulled into a ponytail to avoid tangling in the wind.

There had been some hesitation from the group who had come to retrieve Victoria when the two men decided to join them on this case. Mark, in particular, seemed resistant to their presence. He'd offered to drive Victoria to the site but had made a point of telling her he didn't have room for her roommates and his equipment. That's when she told him she'd just follow in her truck so that it wouldn't be a problem.

" _What do you think will happen?"_ Hiei asked Kurama about forty minutes in their drive.

" _I'm not sure. It doesn't seem demons operate the same way here. I'm actually quite intrigued by her method of dealing with these situations. Other than the kappa incident and what followed we haven't seen Victoria work her magic."_ Kurama responded, vaguely distracted. Then he turned to face the others. "Do you think the homeowners will mind me cooking in their kitchen?"

"I imagine as long as you clean up, no. Why?" Victoria made a face, eyes on the road.

"I have a score to settle. I need to perfect a recipe before Sunday."

"A score to settle?" She snorted. "Who the hell are you in a cooking standoff against?"

"Grams." He narrowed his eyes as he uttered the name.

Both Hiei and Victoria turned to look at him with disbelief.

" _You think you can win against that woman?"_ Hiei stared. _"You've lost your mind."_

"I don't think I'm going to win. I know I will."

"Bold words from a man who took three weeks to master making sweet tea." Victoria pointed out with a grin. "What are you going to make? Don't do mac n' cheese, ham delights, cornbread-"

"It needs to be Japanese. I'm going to try to recreate a recipe of my mother's." Kurama explained. "Though I would love to also beat Grams on her own turf, so to speak."

"You are a petty, dangerous bitch K-drama. I like that about you." She laughed. "We'll stop by a store or something to get you ingredients. I need red bulls anyway. I've been meaning to try the peach one, it sounds amazing."

" _She_ _'s in a better mood. She's brighter than she was before I left._ " Hiei commented, turning his attention to study the woman on his left. His eyes pinched as he really looked her over. " _Her aura is feels right again._ _"_

" _Do you think so?_ _"_ Kurama looked too but he couldn't feel a difference. Hiei seemed to have a deeper understanding in this arena, a tighter connection.

" _Do you think that Mark man has something to do with it? She let him touch her. Maybe he has healing powers."_ Hiei suggested, frowning.

He still couldn't grasp why Victoria had let the man get in so close when she'd spent the last week building up barriers around her. Did he have some sort of preternatural power? It was a curious thing. He only cared because if there was yet another manipulative personality in their narrow circle he wanted to protect himself. Victoria had, mostly, earned his trust. Even Grams only attacked when provoked. This Mark was an outlier and he did not like that.

" _No, I think she just finds him attractive._ _"_

Hiei rolled his eyes, huffing. Then he noted Kurama's careless expression and it made him frown.

" _That's it?"_

Kurama nodded.

" _Something must have happened before Brandon and his girlfriend arrived. Even dealing with them she seemed better than before. More stable. I think we should keep an eye on her, just in case. It was a good idea to come along so we can protect her and support her."_

" _I just don't want her to get herself killed. She's our ticket home."_

Kurama hid his smile by turning his face into the sun and wind. Hiei could posture all he wanted but the fox knew better. His friend had fallen into someone else's influence, and again they had recklessly earned his care and respect. Emotionally stilted as Hiei was, he wasn't immune to friendship. He just liked to pretend it was other things.

"By the way." Victoria started with unbridled humor. "Loving the undercut Kurama. Looks good on you. Hiei, you look very punk rock. I'm delighted."

* * *

Victoria parked the truck alongside a white windowless van and a small sedan in the yard of a lovely looking Victorian house, the trim painted white as well as the railing of the wrap around porch and the upper balconies outside the large second-story windows. The wood had been colored a gentle slate gray, the roof the usual black shingles but adorned with two large solar panels. The yard, as was common with these upper middle class living situations, was lush and green. The garden out front with it's ivy climbing the siding and wrapping around the porch's pillars was full of flowers in blood. The air smelled of honeysuckle and roses. A babbling fountain peacefully announced itself, the man-made water feature lazily cutting through the flowerbeds down to a little pond that was almost too perfect ovular.

All in all it was a perfectly inviting home on a well tended parcel of land.

"Listen to me." Victoria turned toward the two men in the truck after cutting the engine. "If there really is a malicious entity in there you two need to be prepared. This is my job, do you understand? I have done this a thousand times. That makes me the expert here, not you. I don't care what you've dealt with in your world. There will be no showboating, no going rogue. You listen to me or I take you to a hotel and leave you there until I finish this."

Hiei and Kurama exchanged a look.

"This could be dangerous." She pressed earnestly, gravely serious. "I don't want either of you getting hurt, especially not because you're doing something stupid. You have to promise you'll listen to me. That includes going if I tell you to go."

They both begrudgingly nodded feeling as though they were being scolded. Seeing Victoria behaving so sternly, speaking so strictly was unusual. It worked to remind them of intensity of what they might face. Victoria nodded back to them and exited the truck moving around to the bed to pull out her black duffel. With a smile she produced two shirts to match her own and tossed them to the boys.

"Put these on."

With confusion, not sure if this was a ritual for their protection, they complied by stripping off their tops and replacing them with the clothing she'd offered.

Beaming Victoria pulled out her phone and snapped a picture of them, then turned and held away from her for a selfie with them in the background. "Perfect. We're ready to get in there. By the way, the cameras are probably rolling so you might end up on TV."

"Wait, what?" Kurama fretted following after her brisk pace with his own long strides. "But this is where you were on your last trip."

"Yeah, I was apart of the filming of an episode. When Brandon realizes he's in real shit he calls me in to save his ass. He's pretty fucking useless." Victoria turned with a smile to look at Brandon, who glared at her from the porch. "Oh hey, didn't see you there."

"You're the world's biggest bitch and I wish I knew someone else who could do this for me." He told her.

"But you don't." She shrugged.

"Are you serious with those shirts?" He demanded, gesturing to the three of them in their matching Local Cryptid tank tops. "Really?"

"Nice shirts." Mark came out from the house with his camera rig on his shoulder. He offered her a warm smile. "Did you wear that when you showed up last time?"

"I'm hoping to convince the audience I exist in a pocket of space-time." Victoria laughed.

Kurama climbed the three front steps leading to the porch. Victoria and Hiei made to follow at a matched pace when Hiei's hand shot out and gripped her by the upper arm so tightly she was sure he would leave bruises. His movements stalled, eyes wide as he stared up at the house with wide eyes. Even though he did his best to hide it, for a scalding flash Hiei had been viscerally afraid. She felt it too. The energy rolling out of the house this close was ominous at best. It was darkness, the sensation of it, despite the shining sun and all the lights inside burning brightly. Hiei swallowed, his fingers flexing. Victoria reached up and pried his hand off her arm, squeezing his fingers in solidarity before releasing him. Her duffel hit the ground.

They weren't joking about something being very, very wrong here.

Strange that Hiei was reacting so strongly suddenly though. Maybe their run-in with Dorian and the rift between worlds cracking open briefly had awakened his third eye, so to speak. He'd been a psychic before, hadn't he? It would make sense he would be sensitive here as well. Victoria pulled a necklace over her head, all her jewelry still in place from her shielding herself from the world. Hiei watched her warily as she draped the protective pendant over his head.

"This will help." She assured him. "I'll make you something stronger when we get to the hotel. If this gets to be too much you can leave anytime."

 _This is dangerous._

"Yeah buddy, it is. But it's my job." She patted his shoulder and started peeling her rings off her fingers. If she wanted to be the most effective at feeling this out she had to open herself up.

What good timing for her to shake off her haze.

Brandon owed her a princely sum for this.

Hiei followed her up the steps slowly, his eyes scanning the door and the area. He glared at Brandon because the man glared at him first. The urge to flip him off was barely held off. Victoria looked behind her at him and laughed and he suspected she had felt his annoyance.

"You look very intense with your mohawk and your tank top and sparkly nails, Hiei. But try not to piss off the host, okay?"

He shoved his hands into his pocket and stomped into the house with his eyes closed, sneering. Kurama was already in the kitchen with Mekenzi, listening as she described where everything was located. Mark came in behind Hiei and Victoria standing far too close for Hiei's comfort.

"I've been meaning to ask. Is that pomander you made still going to work?" Mark asked her, eyes roving the downstairs. "This place gives me the creeps."

"It'll be good enough for now. I'll make a new batch tonight." Victoria started to walk around the rooms, absorbing the dark energy of the place. Her skin crawled. "Do you have the history of this place?"

"I think Brandon does."

"I'm going to need that. Interviews with the home owners?"

"I'll give you the flash drive with a copy of the videos and recordings. We had to go back and do a second round after the activity started. This has been insane. I thought the demon house was wild but this is even worse." Mark swallowed.

"Yeah." Victoria pulled her brows together until a crease formed between, distracted. The energy of the place was oppressive, cold, dark. But there was an undercurrent of something else that pulled at her yet she couldn't place it. She knew she didn't want to stay here for very long.

In measured steps, Mark's camera rolling, she wandered around the first floor her fingers gliding along the claw marks dug into the drywall then made her way up to the second where she frowned as she paced room to room. Shaking her head so made her way back down the stairs and stood at the base of the staircase for a moment, eyes closed. When she opened her eyes she fixated on a fern that sat in the living room to the left of where she stood. Large ferns sat in the windows along with flower arrangements which were still vibrant. The fern too, when she touched it, had fronds that were healthy and strong. She dipped her fingers down to prod the soil and it was damp.

"Strange." She offered quietly, mostly to herself. "When did you say the homeowners left?"

"We arrived about a week ago. They were gone for a week or so before that." Mekenzi entered the room, watching Victoria.

"Okay." The teal haired woman nodded, rubbing her fingers together to test the feeling of the wet soil. She brought her fingertips to her nose and inhaled. Fresh. No mildew or anything. It was like the plants were just watered. "Have you guys changed anything about the house? Thrown out food? Vacuumed? Any maintenance?"

"You know we don't change the environment." Brandon told her. "It ruins the integrity. We come in, survey, add our equipment, collect evidence and then act if necessary."

"That's what I thought." She wiped her hand on her jeans. "I want to read the history you took on the place and listen to the testimonies before I do anything. I can't cleanse the space until I know what I'm dealing with. Plus I need time to set up precautions. Something about this is off but I can't quite place it yet."

"Take your time." Brandon crossed his arms, his tone sincere. "This needs to be done the right way."

Kurama tipped his head to the side, eying Hiei who stood back from the group to watch Brandon. The short man fix his attention on Brandon's back, then looked Kurama's way with a knowing look. He nodded once then turned back to watch the room. They'd have to discuss this later.

"We're going to go get setup in a room." Victoria told the others. "Meet me there with the files when you get them together."

"Yeah, I can swing by after I set up the static cams again." Mark nodded.

"Thanks."

* * *

Hiei and Kurama looked around their hotel room with keen interest, studying the mini toiletries, the folded towels, the room service menu and the television channel list. Victoria hadn't been able to convince Brandon to pay for her to get a larger suite so she sprung for it herself. This way they had a pullout couch and two beds allowing for Hiei and Kurama to sleep apart for the first time since they'd arrived in this unfamiliar world. It was a worthwhile sacrifice she learned immediately as they both lit up at the idea of sleeping alone. Hiei fiddled with the locks, testing them repeatedly before moving on to the windows to see if they could open.

"Hotels don't have windows that open like that anymore." Victoria announced from her bed, head bent over her papers. "It's a safety and economics thing. Saves energy and keeps people from leaping to their deaths."

"Interesting." Kurama noted, sitting on the other bed to test it's firmness. "This feels extravagant. Are you sure it's worth the splurge?"

"You two obviously think so. That means it's worth it to me." She frowned at a piece of paper and then shuffled the loose pages into an uneven stack, shoving it back into the manila folder. "Nothing. There's nothing in the history that would explain this."

"That means demon, yes?" Kurama laid back and smiled up to the ceiling. How wonderful it was to not have to share the mattress with someone else. He splayed himself out.

"It means something." Victoria chewed at the skin around her thumb as she fell into thought. "These things don't happen for no reason. Why this house? Why these people? Why now? There are so many questions."

A knock at the door made Hiei jump back, as he'd been standing just in front of it. He put his hand on the handle and rose to his toes to look through the peephole with a glare. Rolling his eyes he opened the door so Mark could stroll in. The cameraman raised an eyebrow at him, then noticed Kurama before finally settling his attention on Victoria.

"I brought the flash drive. Sorry it took so long. I had to copy everything over and there's a lot of video." He glanced at Hiei once again before coming to sit on the bed beside Victoria. "Find anything in the papers?"

"Nothing." She accepted the flash drive and pulled out her laptop. "I'll have to watch the interviews to get a better idea of what might have triggered this."

"You don't think it was just random?" He leaned closer to her.

"I don't. Demons don't work that way. They're drawn to things. I can't figure out what this entity might've seen in this house. There is something I know it. Once I can answer that question it'll be easier to get rid of it."

"Why the house?" Kurama sat up on his elbow to regard her. "Why not the occupants?"

"Because they've reported nothing since they left. All the activity is still at the house. That means the entity is there. If it wanted them, it would follow them, but it didn't. It showed up out of nowhere to attack them, scare them out, then ramp up it's activity when the crew arrived." Victoria wrinkled her nose. "Oh! That's right. Hey, K-drama-" Mark mouthed the nickname to himself with some humor- "Can you reach into my bag and pull out the ziplock of black salt? I need you to put some of that into one of the muslin bags along with some of the activated charcoal. Then you can hand it to Mark. Maybe one for you and Hiei too, please."

"A protective sachet?" He guessed.

"That's why you're the brains of the operation." She gestured to him without looking, her eyes glued to her screen. She pulled out her earbuds and plugged them in. "Hiei can you please calm down, you're being too loud."

Mark and Kurama both glanced at the third man, who bristled and remained as quiet as he'd been for the last two hours. Hiei walked over the small end table by the couch and swiped the necklace Victoria had lent to him from the surface, pulling it on with a glower. She gave him a thumbs up, again without looking. He threw himself onto the couch, narrowed eyes focused on her and Mark, his arms crossed. Kurama did as he'd been told and started making the sachet. After a few minutes Hiei got up and crawled onto Victoria's bed behind her, also watching the screen.

Mark actively tried to avoid looking at him. Quietly, he leaned toward Victoria to whisper, "His eyes don't freak you out?"

"Why would they?" She blinked, turning to him.

"They're fucking red, Vick. That's not weird to you?"

"Oh, no. That's a rare genetic mutation is all. It makes him look mean though doesn't it?" She laughed it off. "You're the first person to say something about it. I'm surprised."

He nodded. Everyone in the room noticed that he didn't pull back. Hiei audibly huffed then pointed to the screen where a kitchen cabinet opened behind one of the women that owned the home as she spoke to Brandon. Victoria bobbed her head. Then she signed to him to keep his eyes open in case she missed something. Mark took the other earbud to listen with her so he could point out anomalies he had already noted.

"Right here you can hear it threaten Brandon."

"Sounds like a whisper."

"It was quiet but it was definitely there." Brandon jumped on the screen, slapping at his neck and ear as though a bug had landed on him and he needed to bat it away. "He said he felt like something breathed on him."

"He's such a wuss. Call me when something licks him. That shit changes you." Victoria shuddered. "Okay, so this is Mekenzi building her circle. Looks good, looks good-" she jabbed at the space bar to pause the video right when the salt line broke, "Did you see that?"

"See what?" Mark shook his head.

"Hiei?"

She received a nod. He motioned for her to rewind then leaned over her to pause the video a second earlier. The break in the circle drew _outward_. Mark inhaled sharply, eyes wide.

"Holy shit."

"It broke the circle from the inside. It was in there with her." Victoria swallowed. "This thing is fucking with you guys. It could have done anything to her but it settled for breaking the circle then nothing. It tried to drown a woman but didn't do anything else menacing to her. It ruined the walls but only breathed on Brandon. This thing has tremendous malevolent power but it's acting like a-"

Her eyes closed and she pressed her lips together as she shook her head.

"Acting like what?"

She hit play on the video and fast forwarded to their footage from the time the crew would have left the equipment unattended to come see her. She waited and watched without answering Mark's question because she wanted to make sure. And there it was.

A man with short brown curly hair dressed in cuffed blue jeans, green adidas and a graphic tee walking around the camera with a watering can in hand. Mark swore.

"What the hell? The alarms didn't go off." He waved to the screen.

"Shh." Hiei and Victoria hushed him.

The man whistled while he watered the ferns and the cut flowers. Then he turned and looked at the camera with a smile that widened to reveal sharp teeth, his eyes glinting unnaturally.

And then he was gone.

"What the fuck." Mark pulled back. "What the fuck. What the fuck. What the fuck. Was that the demon?"

"Worse." Victoria grumbled, put out already with this case. "It's a trickster."


End file.
